Comfort in Big Sky Country
by Tiffsababe
Summary: Stephanie falls for someone that isn't Joe... or Ranger. What will this new love hold in store for her? Tart. NOT JOE FRIENDLY, but decidedly Babe friendly. *Warning* violent character death.
1. Chapter 1

**FINDING COMFORT WITH RAM**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Janet Evanovich's characters. Although, I wish I did. I am only playing with them for a while, and I promise that I will put them back when I am done. I receive nothing in return for my work, so sit back and enjoy. Please be gentle this is my first attempt at FF. I hope you like it. -Tiff**

**Chapter 1**

"Okay, Steph. You're done." He patted my knee before I hopped off of the exam table.

"Thanks Bobby."

The takedown hadn't exactly gone according to plan. I was standing guard at the back door with Cal, waiting for Hal to take the FTA into custody at the front door. But, apparently he had other ideas. He made a run for it and ran out the back door. He ran right smack into me knocking us both down the little flight of stairs and onto the ground. What the hell? Why do they always run? That was it, this asshole was going in whether he wanted to or not. Before I knew it, I had him rolled over onto his stomach and cuffed with my knee in his back. Cal had stood by, gun drawn monitoring the takedown, chuckling. A moment later Hal ran around the back of the house, and stopped abruptly in his tracks. There I was, sitting on the cuffed FTA, rubbing my arm where I had bashed it falling.

"Bomber, you OK?" Hal asked with a smile. Looking up at him, I nodded. Ever since I stunned him 3 1/2 years ago, Hal has been teamed with me a couple of dozen times. Hal, or Halasaurus as I like to secretly call him, was a big man. Nearly 6'5", blond hair cut into a high and tight, tanned, muscles on top of muscles and a neck as thick as a telephone pole. His blue eyes sparkled and danced when he smiled. I liked Hal. He was sweet, albeit really shy, until you get to know him. I swung my gaze from Hal to Cal. He was as tall as Hal, green eyes, shaggy blonde hair falling over the flaming skull tatoo on his forehead, well defined muscles and a heart-stopping smile when he let one loose. I loved working with these guys, and they always let me make my own decisions. All the guys at Rangeman knew not to tell me what to do, but allowed me decide for myself.

"Bomber? Are you with us?" Cal asked, eyebrow raised. Brought out of my internal musings, I turned my head to look at Cal and winced.

"Yeah, I'm just a little sore from this Asshole knocking me down the stairs." I got up and kicked the FTA in the ribs. "Next time don't run, Jackass." Both Cal and Hal laughed and grabbed an arm helping the FTA to his feet. "We better get him to the cop shop and get the receipt back to the bonds office."

With our FTA being from Newark, we had an hour long drive ahead of us. On the way to the police station, the guys observed their usual quiet brooding silence, also known as being in the zone. I sat back in the seat watched the scenery out the window and sighed. This was supposed to be an easy takedown. I had Hal and Cal with me. I was supposed to observe and learn their tactics. They had other ideas, they wanted me to learn hands on. Well, they got their wish. But in the process, I had accrued bumps bruises and some scrapes along the way. Ranger wouldn't be too happy about it, but he understands the way I learn things and should allow me to continue.

My thoughts wandered to Ranger. He was my mentor, my boss, my best friend, and my former lover. I grimmaced at the former lover part. I loved him. Well, I still love him. We had what I would call a relationship. It wasn't the normal everyday relationship, no, it was what he could give me. He had closed off his emotions for so long it was difficult for him to open up and love me. He had told me on more than one occasion that he 'loved me in his own way'. I knew deep down he would never be able to open all the way. He shared his cars, his protection, the use of his men for takedowns, and occasionally his bed. My body began to respond to the thought of being in his bed. It started as a slow warmth in my chest and flushed outward. I missed making love with him. He was so damn sexy. His long straight black hair pulled back in a leather tie, his exceptionally well defined muscles, his liquid chocolate eyes, his drop dead gorgeous facial features, and the way he spoke in his native tongue drove me wild. He had been my Cuban sex god. HAD was the key word. We, well _HE_, decided that he couldn't give me what he thought I needed. Apparently, he thought I needed a stable relationship with a stable person. I was happy to take what he could give me, I was more than happy. But it wasn't what made him happy. I hadn't made Ranger happy. I felt rejected, and had withdrawn into myself for months.

Because Ranger realized how unhappy and rejected I felt, he sent Lester and Bobby to check on me. From the time they started to check on me, our friendships grew. I now considered Lester and Bobby both my best friends. It was with gentle manipulation from them that I realized I still loved Ranger, and began to understand why he pushed me away. I had come to accept it, not that I liked it. And eventually I forgave Ranger for his actions. It had taken me 6 months, but I was able to tell him how I felt. I still wanted to be friends and wanted to be in his life, but not as his lover, as he wished. It felt so good to be in his arms again, if only for the occasional hug. It still hurt, it hurt bad. But I knew it was better to have Ranger in my life as my friend than not at all. It took all that was in me not to burst out crying at that moment in front of the guys. As a matter of fact I had become very close to all the men at Rangeman. I had the opportunity to pair up with, or team up with one or a couple of the guys at a time almost daily. Due to the fact my apartment had been firebombed yet again a week ago, I had moved into an empty apartment on the 4th floor. Ranger was happy because he could keep a better eye on me, the guys liked it because they could hang out with me easier, and I liked it because I never had to worry about Joe coming into my apartment uninvited again.

Joe Morelli. Now there's another failed relationship. He wanted to marry me and have kids, but he wanted me to quit my job and stay at home. The only problem with that... was everything! He wanted me to quit chasing FTA's and quit working for Rangeman. Quit hanging out with the guys from Rangeman, and sever my ties with Ranger completely. I just couldn't do that. I love Ranger and the guys and I really like my job. And besides, I can't see myself cooking and cleaning and tending to a bunch of crying kids all day long. Not Joe's kids, anyway. He had a nasty habit of starting fights and we had a very unhealthy realtionship. On again off again constantly. And to make up, he would come by my apartment and tell me 'his boys' missed me. Then we would have sex. But it never really amounted to anything... the relationship I mean. I loved him, but not enough to marry him and settle down. I was not Burg housewife material.

Two days before my apartment was fire bombed by a FTA, was the last time I saw Joe. He had broken into my apartment and waited for me in the dark. I opened my door and flipped on my light to find him standing in the living room, hands on hips glaring at me. "What the hell is this?" He held out his hand, a scrap of black fabric lay in his palm. I flushed with anger.

"What the hell Joe! Why are you going through my dresser?"

"What is it?" His eyes narrowed, his eyebrows knitted together.

"It's a pair of panties. You know that." I started to wring my hands nervously, refusing to look him in the eye.

"Why does it say Rangeman on it? Why would you have a pair of black silky panties with Ranger's name on them?" His voice was deadly calm and quiet.

"It's not what you think. Ella, Ranger's housekeeper, embroidered that on there. I needed a change of clothes when I changed there a while back. Ranger had Ella pick up some things for me. And she had just got a new sewing machine, so she embelished them a little. So what?"

"Why were you changing at Ranger's? Why were you there to start with?"

"Joe. I am not going to explain myself any further to you. I did nothing with Ranger while we were together..."

"But I take it when we were in an off period, you didn't hold back!" By this time his face was beet red and he was yelling.

"It wasn't any of your business what I did with Ranger during those times. NOT THAT IT MATTERS ANYMORE!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs at this point. I pointed to the door. "Out! We're through! I can't do it anymore Joe. I can't be with you. I'm not the one to give you what you want, you need someone stable and safe. I AM NOT ANY OF THOSE! NOW GET OOUUUUUTTTTT!" He stalked towards me, anger radiating from his eyes, when my front door burst open. Ranger, Tank, Lester and Bobby rushed in guns in hand.

"Babe. You OK?" Ranger asked me, his eyes never leaving Morelli. "I think you better go, Morelli. It's obvious that she does not want you here." He growled.

"Manoso." Joe spat out. He then sneered, "Of course, coming to her rescue. I shouldn't have expected any less. And bringing your goons with you was a nice touch." He then leered at the guys. Tank, Lester and Bobby gave him their most dark and menacing death stares. Any normal man would have pissed his pants, but not Joe. He had become accustomed to their looks. "This isn't over Cupcake..." I cut him off.

"No, Joe. We are done. Over. Finished. Never again. I will never marry you. I don't love you like that. Even if I did, I still wouldn't make you happy. Now go. Leave. Don't come back." I crossed my arms over my chest. Ranger looked at Tank and Lester and motioned ever so slightly with a nod of his head towards the door. Tank and Lester escorted Joe out the building and to his POS unmarked cop car. Ranger came over to me and pulled me into a warm hug. I started to silently cry, my face turned into Ranger's chest. The smell of his Bulgari showergel made me feel a little better, and the feeling of his warm and loving arms around me comforted me enough to talk again. "Thanks. How did you guys know Joe was here?"

"Babe." Ranger looked at me. "We saw his car on the monitors, and we got a call from Dillon. He said you were having a bad fight and it was getting worse."

"We were worried about you Bomber." Bobby added, rubbing my back. "We knew as soon as we heard you tell him to get out and the door didn"t open, that you needed us."

"I should have hit my panic button, but I didn't even think about it until he started to coming towards me. I thought he was going to hurt me. Why would he want to hurt me?" I started to cry again, as Tank and Lester walked in.

"Baby girl? You OK?"

"Beautiful? Are you okay, Sweetheart?" I nodded into Ranger's chest again.

"Babe. I'm taking you back to Rangeman for the night. You'll be safe there."

"But where will I sleep? You won't sleep with me anymore." With that last statement, Tank Lester and Bobby looked absolutley shocked. "I guess I can sleep on the couch."

"Babe. You can sleep in the bed with me. Just no roaming hands." I nodded, and sniffled.

"Beautiul, you can stay in my bed. Roaming hands are required though...Ouch!" Tank had slapped the back of Lester's head with the addition of the last bit.

I laughed, "Thanks, Lester. But I'd feel better if I could stay on 7 tonight." Ranger helped me pack and we left for Haywood Street.

To say the least, I never left the Rangeman building for the next two days. I was on edge and scared of what Joe might do. But as soon as I heard from Ram that my apartment was on fire, we fled out the door and to my apartment. As he drove like a madman towards my apartment, Ram called Ranger and alerted him to the situation and said we'd meet him there. We pulled up into the parking lot to find it swarming with fire and police. Ranger was standing talking to the Fire Captain, looking up at the gutted remains of my apartment. I broke down, sank to my knees and sobbed. Ram sat down on the ground next to me, enveloped me in his arms, I turned my face into his chest. He held me, rubbing my back soothing me, "Shhh... It's ok Angel. I'll keep you safe. Shhh." He kept talking to me and rocking me until Ranger made his way over.

"Babe. It's contained to just your apartment. The perp covered everything with gas and lit it up. They caught him a block away, still toting the gas can. I understand he was one of the FTA's you were chasing last week."

"Yeah, Chucky Linn." I choked out. "The bastard flipped me into his mother's pool when I tried to cuff him." I grimmaced and sniffled.

"Well, he won't be getting bail for this one, Babe. Mrs. Bestler saw him enter and leave your apartment before the fire started. She ID'd him and with the damage done, he'll be in for quite a while." Ranger pulled me to my feet and hugged me. After releasing me, I assumed my previous position in Rams arms. Ranger raised an eyebrow and watched me. "Are you going to be okay Babe?"

"Yeah, I guess I should be used to this by now." I had stopped crying, but craved being in a strong man's arms. I liked being in Ram's arms. They were warm and soft, yet strong and protective. It was then that I realized that I didn't have to stop my life because Ranger didn't want an "us". That I could go on and be my own person, that he would protect me and support me in what I choose for my life. Or who I choose for my life.

"You can move into the empty apartment on 4, we just updated it and no one had planned on moving in. It was going to remain empty anyway. Better that you use it."

"Thanks Ranger. But what about all my stuff?" I pointed to my burned out and blackened apartment. Then my face fell and tears streamed down my face. I buried it into Ram's warm rock hard chest and sobbed.

"Shh... Angel. It's ok. You didn't want that stuff anyway. We'll get you new stuff, I'll even go shopping with you if you want." The look of utter amusment crossed Ranger's face at Ram's suggestion.

"You really have a death wish." Ranger laughed.

"I feel bad. You don't have to go with me Ram. I understand. But Ranger is right, no one can stand to go shopping with me." I sniffled, and wiped my nose with my shirt sleeve. "You don't have to go with me."

"I want to Angel. And so will the other guys. We love you and want to help you." Ranger nodded and decided that it was time for him to finish talking to the Fire Captain and head back to Haywood. "Angel..." Ram held me back a bit to look into my eyes. "I want to. If it's okay with you."

"Yeah. I want you to. But I don't want all the other guys to shop with me. It will seem like the stores are being invaded by Rangeman and I don't want to scare the other shoppers or employees. I just want you and Lester and Bobby there, if that's okay?" He kissed the top of my head and nodded. My scalp tingled where his lips had met my head. I felt warm and fuzzy. And happy. "But I'm going to need some funds first. Think you guys can help me capture a bunch of my skips? My insurance check will take a few weeks." He nodded chuckling.

We pulled up to the back door of Trenton PD to unload our FTA. I'm glad we got this Jackass off the street. He was a serial flasher and fondler. For a 20 something guy I do have to say, he didn't really look like he needed to, he was pretty good looking, probably had no trouble finding a girlfriend. But hey, who am I to judge people. A lot of people don't believe me when I tell them that I am a Bond Enforcment Agent, or BEA. My skip stood about 5'11" and in decent shape. I dismounted from my seat and helped Hal guide our FTA into the building. I nervously searched the room, from side to side. "Bomber, I'll keep a look out for Morelli." Cal reassured me, keeping watch.

We walked him to the Desk Sergeant and waited for him to finished his phone conversation. As he hung up, he smiled. "Hey Steph. What 'cha got for me today?"

"Hey, Charlie. We got Davey Ponchillio. I'll need the receipt fast though. We have to get back to the office." I urged.

"From what I hear you put Morelli in his place. Thanks, you made me $150 in the office pool. Beat out Big Dog out by 2 days. You better scoot, Morelli's due back from a 187 on Stark." Charlie handed Hal the receipt and as we were walking out the door, I heard Cal.

"Morelli, three o'clock." I turned and looked to my right. Sure enough Morelli had made his way into the squad room and was headed our direction. Both Cal and Hal moved to shield me from him. I gladly hid behind my giant Rangeman wall.

"Cupcake. Wait up. I need to talk to you." He galred at the guys. "Without Ranger's goons."

"Forget it. She doesn't want to talk to you." Cal growled at him.

Hal showingly placed his right hand on top of his sidearm still in it's holster and his left on his hip. "Get lost. Bomber is done with you. Don't talk to her and sure as hell don't call her Cupcake. Keep it up and she'll press harassment charges with your Captain."

"Cupcake I need you. I want you to..."

"Forget it Joe. Leave me alone. I don't want you, and I sure as hell don't need you! Just FUCK OFF!" I was screaming at him through my Rangeman wall. I turned around and stomped back to the SUV with Hal and Cal right behind me. Hal drove back to Haywood as Cal wrapped his arms around me comforting me while I cried in the back seat. Hal called and notified Ranger as to what happened. After a few minutes I sat up and started to rant. "Who the hell does he think he is? Why does he think I need him? He's not that great. I mean it's not like he's not God's gift to woman or anything!" Cal smiled.

"Bomber, I'm God's gift to woman." I laughed. I mean, I really laughed, hard. I was doubled over and hiccuping. The look on Cal's face was priceless.

"I'm sorry Cal. But that was the funniest thing I've heard in a long time. No offense. I love you, but you're a trip!" He smiled, obviously pleased he managed to make me laugh and smile. "Hal, you were so macho in the cop shop. It was so HOT!" Hal blushed.

"Thanks Bomber. Just hate seeing that guy around you. You get all tense and emotional around him. And it's not good for you. It makes me wanna bash his pecker head in." I smiled at their love and concern.

"I love you guys. You never fail to protect me, even from myself. Now let's get this receipt over to Connie and get back to Haywood."

After collecting our check for Ponchillio, we headed for Haywood. We pulled into the underground garage to find Ranger, Lester and Bobby waiting for us. As I got out I groaned from the effort. Bobby was instantly at my side. "Hey Bomber, you okay? Let's get you up to my office and give you a quick once over. I bought a new batch of lollipops." He whispered the last bit into my ear.

I smiled and nodded, "OK, Bobby, only if I get a red one." He winked at me.

"Babe. My office after Bobby is done." Ranger turned and strode across the garage to the shooting range.

"Beautiful, you never have it easy." Lester hugged me, put his arm over my shoulders and walked with me up to Bobby's office.

"Okay, Steph. You're done." He patted me on my knee before I hopped off of the exam table.

"Thanks Bobby."

***A/N: Sorry to all the Cupcakes out there, but I just can't help myself. My muse thought it would be a good idea to make Joe the bad guy for a change, and I'm trying to see where it will lead me regarding the storyline. I would love reviews, but please remember this is my first FF submission. Thanks . -Tiff**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own none of JE's characters, still not making anything from this.**

**Chapter 2**

I made my way to Ranger's office still sucking on my red lollipop. I knocked waiting for him to respond. "Enter." Great, he's in a talkitive mood today.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Heard Morelli confronted you at the cop shop."

"Yup."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Do I have to?"

"Babe."

Sighing, "Fine." I took a deep breath before I continued. "Cal was keeping watch for him for me while Hal and I collected the receipt. We collected and were headed back out the door when Cal spotted him. Before I could react Hal and Cal blocked him from accessing me. They told him to back off. He didn't listen and I told him off."

"Babe. You told him to Fuck off."

"Well, it was something he'd understand."

Ranger smiled his 2,000 watt smile. "Are you comfortable in your new place?"

"As well as expected. I just want to make it my own. I gotta talk to Ram, Lester and Bobby about going shopping tomorrow." I paused. "That is, if they can have the time off to do it?" I asked Ranger.

"Done." He texted the guys on his phone. "Expect them to be at your door 0900 tomorrow morning."

"0900? oh, yeah. 9 am. Still trying to get used to the whole military time thing." Ranger rolled his eyes. "I'm getting it... I'm getting it."

I turned to walk back to my desk when he called out,"Babe."

"Yeah?"

"Have fun. Be safe. Love you."

"Love you too." I was happy Ranger had finally worked it out to be able to admit to himself and to me that he did truely love me. He just couldn't love me the way he or I wanted.

I made my way to Tank's office and dropped off the check from Connie. "Hey Tank. So you think I'll have enough now to buy some things for the apartment?"

"Hey, Baby girl. Apartment, yes. Clothes, no. I know how you are when you go shopping. You're worse than Lula." He chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, I though of that. But since I'm wearing mostly my uniforms, I just need a few outifts to relax in and a few outfits for distractions."

"Uni's help don't they? But Baby girl, what about your shoes?" My face fell. Tank is one of the few guys here at Rangeman that knew about my shoe obsession.

"Well, I'm going to have to do without for a while I guess. I have my boots," I lifted my foot, showing him my combat style boots I wore for work. "and I have a pair of my running shoes for the gym I can wear. I managed to bring a pair of my black heels when I had it out with Morelli." He grimmaced when I mentioned Joe's name.

"Babby girl. I know you're birthday is in a week. So as my gift to you, I'm buying you your shoes." He smiled, his teeth a flash of white against his deep dark skin.

I ran around the desk and hopped into his lap hugging him. "Oh, thank you Tank. I promise I will only buy two practical pairs." He shook his head no.

"Baby girl, I said I was buying you your shoes. That means at least ten pair." I blinked at him in utter shock, speechless. All I could do was hug him tighter. "If I had known this was the easiest way of getting you to hug me I would have done this sooner." He joked.

"Thank you Tank. Thank you. You have no idea how happy this makes me." He smiled again.

"Better get back to your desk before the boss catches you hugging me." I hopped off of his lap and raced out of his office. Tank shifted in his chair trying to calm himself. Apparently his cargos had become uncomfortably tight in the front. Not wanting any of the guys to discover his predicament, he decided to remain behind his desk for the rest of the afternoon.

Mornings were the bane of my existance. _**Beep Beep Beep**_. I hate my alarm. I slammed my hand down on the snooze button. '_Ten more minutes,' _I told myself. Before I could snuggle back under my covers, my phone rang. I blindly grabbed for it on my nightstand. Finding it I flipped it open, "Yo."

"That's my line."

"Hi Ranger." I sat up and scratched my head feeling my hair sticking straight out I frowned.

"Babe. Gym in 20." I looked at the clock. 0440. Damn this is too damn early!

"Okay, but I want breakfast after..." I started to say, but realized he had already hung up. "Damn! I hate when he does that." I snapped my phone shut and dragged my ass out of bed. As I dressed in my usual black panties, sports bra, gym shorts and white socks and tennies, I drank my first cup of coffee of the day. Thank God for coffee makers with timers. It was so nice to wake up to the smell and taste off fresh brewed coffee. I worked my hair into a fashionable simple ponytail and headed out the door.

Upon entering into the gym I was a little shocked to find most of the guys waiting for me. I spied Lester and Ram leaning against the back wall chatting and headed in their direction. "Hey guys. What's this all about? Ranger called and told me to be here."

"Hey Beautiful. It's quarterly fitness evaluations. Everyone employed here is required to do them. Didn't anyone tell you?"

Pouting, I chewed my upper lip. "Nope."

"Angel. It's okay. As long as you can keep up with us you'll be okay." I must have paled because Ram put his arm over my shoulder.

"It's ok. With you being a woman, they won't hold you to the same standards as us guys. It's not really that bad. Pull ups, push ups, sit ups, running and some mat time." Lester grabbed my hand and squeezed slightly.

"Oh. Okay." I said quietly. Ram quickly pulled me into a hug.

"It'll be okay Angel. I'll be right beside you the whole time. Besides it isn't anything you haven't already been doing durring your training time in the gym anyway. I've seen you when you get into your zone. You're pretty hot." He smiled and winked at me. Lester laughed outloud causing some of the other guys to look in our direction. "Bobby is the one observing, Ranger will too. Being boss has it's advantages. He gets to do his solo." I snuggled into Ram's chest a little more and relaxed. I felt so safe and happy in his arms, it kinda worried me a bit. I mean what would Ranger say? '_Best to think about it later', _I thought as Bobby and Ranger entered the gym. "Start stretching out. You have ten minutes." I began stretching watching the men stretch out as well. I spotted Ram, looking him over as I worked my legs. He was 6'5", well muscled and tanned. His massive chest narrowed into a slim waist, leading to his long legs. He was a perfect specimen for a marble sculpture, his roman nose, and cleft chin accented his gorgeous green eyes and his blonde hair cut into his customary high and tight. '_I am one lucky Bitch!'_ I thought to myself. Where else can I get an eyefull of mancandy dressed in tight shorts and shirts? '_Yeah, I'm one lucky bitch!'_

Bobby barked out,"Tank, Santos, Ram, Cal, Hal, Zip, Zero, Hector and Bomber group Alpha." '_Good'_ I thought. At least I can be with guys I know. Bobby continued with the rest of the men dividing them into groups Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, and Frank. We were all to rotate from one test to the other with one group resting after the run. We were up first on the pull ups. I stared at the bar nearly 3 feet over my head. How in the hell am I going to grab it from here? Before I could answer that, I felt a strong pair of hands lift me up to the bar. I heard a few guys chuckle as I squeeked. I turned a bit to see Ranger had lifted my up to the bar.

"Thanks. I had no idea how I was getting up here."

"Babe." He gave me his almost smile. "Alright. Men as many as you can in 3 minutes. Babe, as many as you can, without hurting yourself. Begin." He hit the button on his official timer watch and I began. I was doing good in my estimations until I saw the guys as just a blur beside me. It was scary watching them doing pull ups as if it were nothing. "Time."

I held on looking down at the ground far below me waiting for someone to help me down. Ram came and gently lowered me down. "How did you do?"

"I managed to do 42. Is that good?" Ram smiled wide showing his perfect teeth.

"Angel that's great. I don't know of any other woman who can do that many." I gave a weak smile.

"Thanks Ram. What's next?"

"Sit ups. Gives our arms a chance to rest before the push ups."

"Great. I hate sit ups."

Bobby barked, "Change." We made our way over next to the windows to our far left. We all flopped down and assumed the position. Ranger came and held my feet in place for me.

"Thanks. I was trying to figure out how I would do this without someone holding me down."

"Babe. Anytime. As many as you can in 3 minutes. Begin." I started a little slow, worried that I wouldn't do very well, but soon found my rhythm. I found that if I hummed Metallica's Enter Sandman fast I could do the situps quicker. "Time."

I flopped back onto the floor and turned my head to see the guys had done the same. Ram grabbed my hand and shook it side to side. "Hey Angel. How did you do this time?"

"51."

"Good job. Keep it up. You'll suprise yourself." I nodded too tired to speak.

"Change." Bobby yelled.

We made our way over to the treadmills. _Wonderful!_ I thought to myself.

"Babe. You won't have to do the three minute mile. Just go as far as you can. Men, Five minutes. Set your machines..." I stood on my machine and prepped it, "Begin." I hit the start button and jumped on the conveyer belt. I increased the speed until I hit my rhythm. I began to hum to AC/AD's Hell's Bell's. The time seemed to pass by quickly. "Time." I shut my machine down and walked around stretching out and cooling down. Ram and Lester were grinning as they looked at my machine readout.

"What?"

"Beautiful. You went as far as I did." I smiled, knowing that Lester was one of the faster guys at Rangeman. "Guess all that time in the gym has paid off, huh?"

"I guess. Or maybe, you're getting slow in your old age Gramps." I stuck my tongue out and laughed at him. I grabbed a seat on the floor next to Ram.

Lester grabbed at his heart feigning hurt. "Gramps? I'm not old Beautiful. In fact I'm younger than you by a year. If anyone is old it's you. But to tell you the truth, 34 isn't old." I stopped dead in my tracks.

"How do you know that?" Lester had the deer in the headlight look.

"Uh... uh..." He gave me his drop dead gorgeous smile. "I peeked at your file a while back. Not bad for an older chick." I punched him in the gut.

"DAMN IT LESTER! That was private! You're not supposed to do that. You know better."

"I know." He rubbed his stomach, as if I could really hurt him. "I just was trying to find out your birthday. We wanted to make sure we didn't miss it."

"Oh, Lester. I'm sorry." I rubbed his stomach with the palms of my hands. "I didn't know. I didn't think you guys would care about birthdays."

"Only yours Beautiful."

"Angel, if it makes you feel any better I don't care how old you are. And what's this I hear about your birthday? When is it? Do you have any plans yet?"

"Yeah, it's in a week. And no, I don't have any plans yet."

"Now you do. We're taking you out to celebrate with the three D's."

"Three D's?"

Ram smiled, "Yeah. The three D's...dinner, dancing and dessert." I giggled hugging him and Lester.

"That sounds great. Guess I'll have to pick out an outfit for it today. Will you help me?"

"Damn straight!" Ram almost shouted.

"Babe." Ranger walked over to our little group. "Time is up."

"Damn!"

"Babe."

"What? I wasn't prepared for this today. You never told me."

"Would you have come if I did?"

"No."

"Babe." He smiled, which was rare around the guys. We walked over to the far right side of the gym to where we would do push ups. "Ok. Three minutes. And, Begin." I started off strong humming to Warrant's Cherry Pie. And next thing I knew time was up. I felt good, my endorphines had kicked in and I was riding the wave.

"Hey Les. I did 33. How's that for a old woman?"

He smiled and slapped me on the ass. "Not bad, Beautiful."

"SANTOS!" Ranger barked. "Hands off!" Les chuckled and gave a shrug of the shoulder as if to say I couldn't help it. I laughed and looked at Ram who was red from holding in his. Finally he couldn't do it and gave in to his laughter. I loved the sound of his laugh, it made me laugh and feel warm all over.

Hector sauntered over and hugged me. "Angelita." He placed a kiss on my cheek to everyone's suprise. Even Ranger stood mouth agape staring.

"What?" I asked a little miffed at their reaction. "What's the matter?"

"We've never seen Hector touch a woman before. It's just a little wierd." Lester admitted.

"So? He's nice, you don't give him as much credit as you should." I shot back. I knew the reputation Hector had carefully constructed for himself. No one, not even Ranger would dare to piss him off. But I have come to know Hector, I even knew one of his biggest secrets. He knew and spoke English. But no one but he and I would ever know that. I love him too much to tell anyone that secret. I rubbed the teardrop tatoos on his cheek and kissed his on the lips. Turning to the guys I spoke in my best Spanish, "Hector es mi hermano." Hector smiled and hugged me again.

"Si, Angelita es mi hermana." Les started laughing and clapped Hector gently on the back.

"You learn something new everyday." Ram stated in his still shocked state.

Before anyone could add to that, Bobby barked, "Change. Last one!"

We headed to the mats. _UGH!_ I hate the mats. I don't like hitting people and I sure don't like getting hit. It's gotta be a guy thing to be out here pounding away at one another. I sure didn't care for it at all. Don't get me wrong, I mean, knowing how to take down a FTA is great and all, but knowing I was going to spar with my friends was a little scarry. With the exception of Hector they were all taller than 6'2" and at least 100 pounds heavier. "Babe. You're partnering with Hector. He's more you're size, and he won't hurt you."

"Thanks Ranger. I was afraid Lester would be my partner and try to cop a feel."

"Hey I resemble that remark!" Les retorted smiling wide.

"Take downs men. Pull your punches. Three minutes. Begin" I looked at Hector and he winked at me. He came at me twisting me into a full nelson. He whispered into my ear, "No worries Angelita. I help you kick my ass." I smiled and elbowed him in the gut. He doubled over and I pushed him onto his back. He jumped up and proceeded to try to knock my feet out from under me with a leg sweep. But I jumped and gave a well placed kick to his chest knocking him back. He stood and resumed sparring with me until time was up. We had done well, I had taken him down four times and he had taken me down five.

Ranger barked, "Time!" We flopped down onto the mats, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Ram looked over at me and winked. When I winked back, a nice warm feeling coursed through me energizing me. I hopped up and jumped over to Ranger.

"I feel like I could kick your ass right now, I feel so good." I smiled wickedly."Wanna try?"

"Babe, not on your life. I think you could kick anyone else's ass. But I think you would want to save your energy for shopping later."

"I won't have to carry anything. Ram and Les and Bobby agreed to that." I gave him one of my super sweet smiles. "Besides, I'll be all pumped up when half the Berg sees me shopping with three of the hottest guys in the world at my beck and call."

"Babe. Be careful what you say." He smiled. "the men will think _you_ think they're hot."

"THEY ARE HOT!" I shot back. But I spoke a little TOO loud. Because all the guys perked up and smiled.

"Damn Beautiful! I always knew you thought we were hot!" Les joked. I hung my head in my hands and blushed.

Thinking fast on my feet. I responded loud enough for all of the guys to hear, "You're all hot. It must be a requirment at Rangeman for you guys to be incredibly hot and sexy!" I looked at Ranger and smiled. "I'm headed back to 4 to change and get ready for my outing today." With that I turned on my heels and headed to my apartment, with all the guys murmuring behind me. "Damn straight!" "Sweet!" "I always knew she thought like that!" I giggled all the way back to my apartment on 4, let myself in and prepped for my shower.

**A/N: I decided that Stephanie deserves to become a stronger woman. After being constantly, put down and bashed by Joe, she needs a little boost in her confidence. Working alongside the MM and Ranger has done wonders for her confidence, not to mention her body. I hope it helps her to spread her wings and fly, she deserves it. I can't help but think, she's mini Bad-Ass herself! -Tiff**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

After taking a nice long and steamy shower I dressed in a cute matching blue lacy demi bra and thong panties, blue jeans and a low cut pink t shirt. I teased my hair to a respectable Berg height, locked it into place with a liberal amount of hair spray, applied a double layer of mascara, and an extra swipe of my fireman red lipstick. Just as I was about to tug on my tennies a knock at the door stopped me. "It's open." In walked Les and Ram. I was bent over at the waist tugging on my second shoe when I looked up. Both guys were staring at me, standing stock still. "What?"

"Uh, Angel... unless you want one of us to ravage you right here and now, maybe you bending over like that isn't such a good idea."

"Huh?" I looked at myself and then back to Ram. "What?"

"Uh... We saw right down your shirt Beautiful. And I might add, it was a great view." Les smiled and waggled his eyebrows.

"Pervert." I smiled. Nice to know that they had a reaction to my little impromptu peep show. It wasn't like I intended for it to happen, it just did. But it was nice to know that these guys were human after all. "Did you find out how we did?"

"Les and I passed no problem." Ram smiled sweetly at me. But then he got serious. "Angel..."

"Yeah?" My shoulders sagged in anticipation of a gentle let down of how bad I did.

"Hey..." Ram took me into his arms and hugged me. "You did... AWESOME!" He swung me around in circles before setting me back down. "You surpassed the required amount Bobby thought you could do comfortably by a long shot. You kicked Hector's ass. You beat the requirements by such a large margin that Bobby wasn't sure Ranger hadn't fudged the numbers. He had Zip pull up the footage from the gym and he reviewed the entire tape. He was shocked. I'm so proud of you Angel." Ram hugged me again. Then I noticed Bobby wasn't there.

"Where's Bobby? Isn't he coming?"

"Yeah. He's going to meet us at the Mall later on. He's just finishing the last of the fitness evals. He'll be there before lunch. Ready to hit the town Angel?"

"With you guys? Always."

We made our way to the garage and slipped into one of the typical Rangman black SUV's. Les reached down and disabled the audio feed to the control room. He drove and Ram sat in back with me. "So where do you want to start Angel?" I frowned and snuggled into the crook of Ram's arm, thinking about the most logical place to start from.

"Well, I need to buy some things for the aparment first. Then I'd like to buy some casual clothes, then some clothes for distractions, then shoes, and then..." I paused trying to think of a way to delicately put it.

"Then what Beautiful?"

"Then I want to head to Victoria's Secret for some new underthings."

"HOT DAMN!" Ram shouted. Giving me his biggest smile, he asked, "Will you model for us, Angel? Oh, God! Please say you'll model for us!"

"Maybe if you two keep me out of trouble."

"YESSS! You have no idea how many times I dreamed of this, Beautiful." Les grinned like a kid at Christmas.

"You have?" I asked a little shocked at the idea someone had dreamt of... of... ME. "I don't think of myself as being hot, or outwardly sexy. Why would anyone think of me that way?"

"Angel. We all have. We just never said or did anything because of Ranger. You were his, and so you were off limits. I can't speak for anyone else, but before you became fair game, I had those thoughts every night." Ram admitted blushing a tiny bit.

Lester agreed. "Yup. Every night. You might not think you're sexy. But we do." He looked at me in the rearview mirror,"Do you know how sexy it is watching you take down a FTA? Or seeing you light up when you make a breakthrough on a case? Or do you know how damn hard it is to watch you dress up in those incredibly hot outfits when you do distractions? I damn near come unglued every time. You are so damn sexy because you don't try to be. You are just you. And that is the sexiest thing of all. Of course it doesn't hurt that you are drop dead gorgeous."

"Lester I am not drop dead gorgeous!"

"Are too Angel. And so DAMN sexy!" I blushed at that revelation. "I know every one of the guys at Rangeman have thought about asking you out at one time or another in the last three months. I pretty sure Hector had thought about it too." He teased.

"How about it Beautiful? Wanna go on a date with me?"

"Les, you are my best friend. I don't know if I could kiss you the way I like to. It might be too wierd."

"Won't know until you try."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try." I conceeded. "What about you Ram?" I turned to look at him. He sat staring at me like how I stare at cake. It made me feel all warm and tingly all over.

"I'd like that. And besides... I've wanted to for ages." I smiled and lowered my lashes looking at him in my sexiest way.

"So would I."

Before I could add anything else, Les had pulled into a parking spot near the front of the mall. "Beautiful, we're here. We can wait for the good stuff after this is over. Besides we will have earned it." We exited the SUV and headed inside. After buying dishes and kitchen wares, we headed for the bedding department. Lester flopped down on one of the bedding displays while Ram stuck to my side offering his input.

"What color are you looking for Angel?"

"I'd like light blue sheets and a dark blue comforter. Plus I'm going to need new pillows."

"Here's a 400 count queen sheet set." He suggested before shaking his head. "Too rough for your skin I think. The softer the better." I watched him pick out the perfect robin's egg blue sheet set in 900 thread count. "Now here's what my Angel should be sleeping on." I smiled and took the package into my hands turning it over and over admiring the color, knowing that they would feel like heaven. "

"They're perfect. Now lets find a comforter to go with."

Lester rolled his eyes. "Is this how you shop Ram?"

"Gotta know what the ladies like Santos." Ram winked at me and moved us over to the comforters. Soon he found the perfect one, a dark midnight blue with a quilted pattern in black diamonds across the top. "This would be awesome, Angel. Do you like it? Or do you think something else would work for you?"

"This is beautiful Ram. How do you seem to know what I like best?" I smiled at him. It was almost like he knew me better than I knew myself.

"It's just a gift I have. My Momma used to make me go shopping with her since I was little. And she always made me go with her to the fabric store to buy the things she would need to sew her own things. My brother's and I always had new church outfits every month. Besides, living on a ranch in the middle of no where in Montana made trips to the store rare. The only times we made it into town regularly were for church and school. It was nice to spend time just the two of us together. Didn't matter if we were shopping or not. So I came to like shopping becasue it meant spending time with the one that I love." He added quietly for my ears only. "Just like right now."

I blushed and added, "I like shopping with you too, Ram." I stopped and thought, OMG! I don't even know Ram's first name. "Hey, Ram?"

"Yeah, Angel." Ram was busy looking at pillows.

"What's your full name? I never asked, I'm sorry." He looked at me, smiled and whispered into my ear. "Evan Michael Ramsey. But you're lucky... I already know yours. When I filled out your paperwork at the hospital that time Ranger was in the wind. Stephanie Michelle Plum."

"I didn't know you did that. I thought Tank or Bobby did." I shook my head. "Thanks. That wasn't too bad of injuries. Just a broken pinky and bruises. I got lucky, that was a bad takedown."

He nodded slowly, "Tank beat himself up over that for weeks. He tried not to let you see him like that. He felt so bad. Eventually he realized that it turned out the best that it could have, given the situation. It could have been so much worse." I agreed. It was a bad situation all around. The FTA realized who I was when we headed for the door to leave. He grabbed me and shoved me into the bar. He then smashed a beer mug onto my pinky finger. Before I could stop him, he had made a run for it out the back door. When Bobby brought me out the back to tend to my wounds, Ram, Les and Tank had worked the FTA over pretty good. He was already in the back of one of the SUV's awaiting the trip to the cop shop. Ram and Bobby took me to the hospital to get my hand looked at while Tank and Les took the FTA in. That night in the hospital Ram held me in his arms comforting me because Ranger was in the wind. Now looking back on it, Ram must have been beside himself. On one hand he was able to hold me all night, and on the other hand he was holding the boss's woman. I wouldn't let him leave me even after I got home. I had him hold me while we slept on the couch. I remember feeling so warm and protected. I slept so soundly that night. I wondered if it would always be like that with him. I thought to myself, '_should I go for it? It's Ram though. Won't Ranger get upset?' _I continued my internal debate for a few more minutes, before deciding to worry about it later.

I picked out a set of incredibly soft pillows and turned to Les who was fingering the fabric of a pillow sham on one of the displays. "Ready to pay for this? Then we can head over to the clothes. I know you'll want to help there, right Les?" He perked up and nodded with a smile.

I paid for my items and then sent Lester out to the truck to stow away the items so we could pick out clothing. When Les left us Ram spoke up, "You know I never told anyone about my shopping trips with my Momma except you. I feel like I've known you forever."

"Thanks. I think I feel the same way too. I can talk to you like no one else. Even Les and Bobby. Can I call you Evan from now on?" I stammered, and tried to backpedal. "I mean only if you want me to. It's okay if you don't." I frowned looking at my hands, biting my lower lip. Good God! I was acting like I was a school girl. What was wrong with me?

"Angel. I would really love for you to call me Evan." He hugged me and rested his head on top of mine. We waited for Les to return a few minutes later. He looked all excited and amped, ready for the possibility of seeing a little skin.

We headed out to one of the smaller shops that catered to petite women. Upon entering I noticed that most of the women shopping in the store stopped and stared at the three fo us. It wasn't everyday you see a small petite woman flanked by two gorgeously hot muscled yet fully armed men. I picked out a few pairs of jeans, while Lester and Evan picked out a bunch of shirts for me to try on. I made my way back to the dressing room. But before I could enter, Les did his quick and discrete search of the dressing room to ensure my safety. I wriggled into the first pair of jeans and donned an incredible tight shirt I'm quite sure Les picked out. I came out turned in place awaiting their verdict. A low whistle and cat call came from Les while I received a smile and twinkling eyes from Evan. "Jeans, yes. Shirt, no. Too tight. I can barely breathe. Les, Next time... a little bigger." I told him. The next four shirts were the same, too tight. But I could tell the shirts Evan had chosen. They fit perfectly and comlimented my figure. I came out modeling the four he chose. Everyone of them was a keeper. I really liked the one he chose that was a sleeveless white eyelette lace button up. It looked incredible with all the jeans I chose. I could see myself wearing it anyday of the week. Evan nodded and so did Lester. So I changed and made my way to the counter to pay for my clothes.

Evan chose to run out to the SUV this time. This gave Les and I a little time to ourselves. "Hey Les."

"Yeah?"

"How come you never asked me out?"

"I always knew you were Ranger's woman. Besides after you two broke up, I felt like I was still poaching. It felt wierd for a while. But now I know you are on the market for a new man, I think I could be there for you if you let me." He glanced at me sideways.

"I knew you always liked me. How could I not know?" I smiled and patted his hand. "But I don't know if I could ruin our relationship. I mean what if you decide you couldn't stand me?"

"Beautiful. Look at me." I raised my eyes to look into his chocolate brown ones. "I will always love you. No matter if you choose to be with me or not. I can't see myself living without your smile."

"Thanks Les. I love you too." I hugged him and leaned into him. "Promise not to be mad?"

"Promise."

"I think I'd like to date Ram." A huge smile spread across his face.

"I knew it. I knew it the day they took you to the hospital and you wouldn't let him leave you. After I got there, I watched him with you and I knew he loved you. It was hard for him you know. Knowing you were Ranger's woman. But he kept silent and stayed with you anyway. I'm happy you chose him. He's really a great guy." He suddenly became serious. "You do know he still has another six months on his contract with the government. He could get called at any time."

"I know. All you guys are still current or recently retired from your contracts. I accepted that the day I found out. It's a part of who you are. I'd never ask for any of you to give that up unless you wanted to." I quietly added, "I never asked Ranger. Why would I ask any of you?"

"I know Beautiful. That's another reason we love you so much. You accept us for who we are. No questions, no conditions. Except for the occasional rolling in garbage, you really are the perfect woman." I rolled my eyes and lightly punched his arm.

"Thanks." At this time Evan returned to us and we headed to a different shop down near the food court to find my distraction outfits. Both the guys were giddy with excitment. Just as we were about to enter the store, my cell phone rang. Flipping it open I saw it was Bobby. "Yo."

Bobby laughed, "Hey Bomber, that's the Boss's line. I'm all finished and I'm standing in the middle of the food court. Where are you?" I told Bobby what store we were at and hung up. A minute later he strolled up giving me a huge hug. "Bomber, what are we after now?"

"Distraction outfits." I smiled wickedly.

"Lord help us!" Bobby groaned.

We entered the store and I let the guys wander around a little searching for outfits. I found a few tight skirts and blouses to try, as well as two drop dead sexy dresses. Les walked up handing me another two dresses, Evan handed me two low cut blouses, and another dress. Bobby had only found a dress but was grinning from ear to ear. I entered the dressing room after Bobby checked it for me. First I tried on the dress Bobby picked. It was sliver lame', stopped about mid thigh and was cut low enough that I couldn't wear a bra with it. I stepped out of the dressing room twirling for them to get a good look. Bobby started to drool, Les made a slight choking sound and Evan had a grin from ear to ear. Looking into the mirror, I liked what I saw. And I'm not just talking about the relection. It was nice to know I was wanted and appreciated. I scooted back into the dressing room to try on another. The next time I emerged I had on a skin tight pleather skirt that barely covered all my parts, with a purple button up halter top. I thought Bobby was going to need CPR along with Les. Evan just sat back and took it all in. I walked over to him, leaned in, placed my lips near the shell of his ear and asked, "Is it hot enough for me to wear again?" I watched him shudder and nod.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He shifted, visibly uncomfortably in his seat. Laughing to myself,_ 'I think I just made him hard'_. I returned to the dressing room and proceeded to display the rest of the outfits. After gaging the reaction from the guys, I decided to buy Bobby's dress, the pleather skirt and halter top, all of Evan's choices and another dress that Les had picked out. I made my way up to the counter and paid. Having two dresses in garment bags as well as another large bag, Les helped Evan take the items to the SUV leaving Bobby and I to wait until they returned.

"Bomber. You never fail to blow me away. This, I do have to say, is the best shopping trip I have ever been on."

"Thanks Bobby. But for me this is a normal everyday thing. I always shop for things like this, all the time. See what you all miss when you try to get out of 'Bomber Duty'. I just assumed you all would hate it so I do it on my own or with Lula. Betcha' you're kicking yourself now aren't 'cha?"

"Yes. From now on I'll be asking for 'Bomber Duty"." He laughed. "So what's next?"

"Shoes." I paused. "Oh, SHIT!" I started to pout. "Tank said he was going to buy me shoes today and I forgot to find out how he was going to do that."

"Bomber, Tank gave me his credit card for you. He didn't forget." I hugged Bobby.

"Thanks Bobby." I giggled and almost bounced out of my seat. "I LOVVVVEE shoes. I can't live without them."

"I know. I saw your closet before. You are a shoe whore." He laughed. "You're almost as bad a Santos." He clasped his hand over his mouth after letting that slip.

"Oh, really?" I just had to know. "So he has more than I had?"

"By a long shot. His cloest is so full, he filled his hall closet and his linen closet. He'll kill me if he knows you found out. Promise me you won't say anything." He pleaded.

"Nope. Not gonna happen." I smiled. "This is too good to pass up." I wickedly replied, bumping him gently with my fist.

Evan and Les joined us and we headed to Macy's. "I only need a few pairs, but Tank said for me to get at least ten pairs. What do you think?"

"Well, what Tank wants Tank gets." Evan replied, eye shining.

"Then ten it is." I perused the shoe department for the ultimate shoes. I chose everyting from a low squatty heel ideal for meeting with Rangeman security clients, to 5 inch FMP's. I had the young store employee bring me my choices in my perfect size six. I started with the lowest pair first and worked my way up the line. By the time I reached the little pair of black pinup style FMP's I think the guys were in heaven. I never knew shopping with them could be this much fun. No one ever stuck around with me to shop except Lula. This was definately a new experience. I slipped the FMP's on and strutted around the floor, gaging how they felt while I walked. I loved them!

I told the girl to wrap them all to go, I couldn't do without. As she read me the total I think the guy's eyes bugged out of their heads. But I pulled out Tank's little black Rangeman credit card and we were soon placing the shoes into the SUV. Lester and Evan Looked like they were in heaven, and Bobby was eager to see what was next on the menu.

"I think we need to eat before we finish the trip at the last store."

"Where's that Bomber?" Bobby asked. Les bit into the heel of his hand as Evan groaned from the torture.

"Why Bobby, I don't have any panties or bras except what I have on. We have to go to Victoria's Secret." For a black man, I think he just paled about 6 shades. "Let's get some lunch then head over there. What do you guys want to eat?"

"Angel, to tell you the truth, the only thing I could eat right now is you." Evan blushed and smiled. Lester and Bobby nodded slowly in agreement.

"Let's head over to the Burger Barn and get some burgers and fries. I know you all don't usually eat like this, but after today I think you might need it." I laughed.

We ate in silence. The guys seemed to thoroughly enjoy the greasy fries and cholesterol laden burgers. To top it all off we all had milkshakes. To think Ranger wouldn't touch the stuff. Guess his employees aren't as disciplined as he is. We finished in a record amount of time and tossed our trash. I slowly raised my eyes to the guys, "Are you ready? Let's go to Victoria's Secret."

After entering the store, the young employee approached us asking me if I needed help making some selections. I smiled and shook my head telling her that I had my friends to help me. All three guys sheepishly grinned and left us to search for something for me to try on. I found my usual demi bras and thongs. I made my picks and waited for the guys to return. Bobby came back first with an ivory panty and bra set. It was lacy, girly and oh so cute! Les's choice was a nearly sheer babydoll neglige' with a matching pair of lacy thong panties. _I figured as much._ Evan took the longest, returning with his choice already paid for and wrapped in a pink and black striped VS bag. I smiled. "No fair, Evan. Are you expecting me to model it for only you?"

"Only me." I blushed.

"We'll talk about that later tonight over dinner." OMG! I just asked Ram out on a date!

"Sure, how about Pino's?"

"Sounds devine. Now I guess I have to try these on don't I?"

I entered the dressing room only after Evan checked it out. Man, what is it with these guys? I don't think a bad guy is going to be waiting for me in the VS dressing room. So I stripped and donned the set Bobby brought me. Breathing in and out slowly, I mustered the courage to step out. When I did, I think I saw them harden instantly. It was lacy in all the right places, and yet modest enough that I could be seen wearing it in the hospital if I had to have my outer clothes cut off for an emergency procedure. Hey a girl has to be ready for anything!

Allowing the guys to relax a bit, I returned to the dressing room. I donned the outfit Les chose and froze in the mirror. OMG! I am hot! I never realized how sexy this stuff makes me look. Hope their cargos have industrial strength zippers. I stepped out in front of the guys and my nipples hardened at the looks of sheer lust and passion in their eyes. My breath quickened and my eyes dialated, thinking of how this was affecting them. I turned around to return to the dressing room when I heard Lester whisper to Evan and Bobby, "HOLY SHIT! That was so fucking hot! " I rolled my eyes and started to change back into my street clothes. Les's voice could barely be heard over the quiet music playing in the store. "Dude, Ram. She likes you Dude. Go for it. Ranger is out. You could be in. I know you like her, Man. Go for it. She'd be thrilled." I smiled sadly, knowing it tore at Les's heart to give another man permission to pursue me. But he understood I loved him too much to ruin our relationship. I finished changing and proceeded to pay for all of the lingerie I held in my hands. After stopping to adjust themselves, we made our way out of the mall.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Sorry this is not only for this chapter but last chapter as well, oops! I own none of JE's characters, I promise to return them gently after I'm done! I make nothing from my works. JE is a goddess!**

**Chapter 4**

We had only made it out of the building before Les and Bobby stiffened and moved me behind Evan. Bobby and Les spun around and tried to look as menacing as possible. Before too long a tall, lanky, Itallian waltzed up. Evan started to growl, while shielding me with his body. Les warned our visitor, "She told you she wanted nothing to do with you, Morelli."

Bobby gimmaced, "Now get in your piece of shit car and leave. Our buddies already warned you before, don't make her file charges on your stupid ass."

"Now is that any way to talk to an officer of the law?"

"Don't see any. Do you?" Les answered. He looked at Bobby then at Evan. Bobby shook his head.

"Nope. Only a Dickhead." Evan said dead calm.

"Gentleman, I am here to talk to the lady. And only the lady." He turned towards Evan trying to pass by him to talk to me. Bobby stepped into his way, Joe glared at him head on. "Cupcake. Please let me talk to you."

"No." I said quietly, shielding my face into Evan's back.

"But, please. I love you. I want you to come home." Joe pleaded.

"What part of 'No' don't you understand? I don't want you."

"Yes, you do. You have other people telling you what to do. Ranger and his goons are brainwashing you."

"Who are you calling a goon? You Mook!" Evan ground out. "I can't believe you don't listen to her. She's done Morelli. And I'll do what ever it takes for her to be rid of you. Now beat it."

"What are you? Her personal bodyguard?"

"No, I'm her boyfriend. Now beat it, Asshole." The look of pure and unadulterated rage filled Joe's face. He started turning a purplish red, his hands balled into fists. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple and finally he lost it.

"You son of a bitch! She's mine and no one else is going to have her. You touch her and I'll rip your throat out. I'll shit down your neck and then bury your body so no one will ever find you. Fuck Cupcake! Couldn't you have found someone normal? Look at this guy! It looks like he should be a model for a GI Joe action figure. Fuck!"

"Joe. Grow up. It's none of your business who I date. Now like I said before... FUCK OFF!" I started to scream at him. "Who the Fuck do you think you are? You are nothing to me! You never wanted anything from me but a good lay! I can't be around you, I can't do this anymore. Expect for me to press charges." I buried my face back into Evan's back, tear streaming down my face.

"And expect for me to press charges as well, Asshole." Evan added. He turned and brought me into his arms, "Lets go, Angel. He's not worth it."

Evan led me to the SUV and slid into the back seat with me. Bobby and Les covered the rear and then got in as well. With Bobby in the passenger seat and Les driving, we pulled out of the parking spot.

"Bomber, I'm going to call Ranger on the way back. I'll see you at Haywood." I nodded and my eyes started to tear up. We pulled up to Bobby's truck a few moments later, let him out and then left the mall.

I was staring straight ahead not seeing anything. Les was quiet and in his zone. Evan growled and then punched the passenger seat forcing the seat forward bashing against the dashboard. I squeaked in suprise. "Son of a bitch! That Asshole needs to go." He turned to me and hugged me. "I'm sorry Angel. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that guy really pisses me off." I nodded with my lower lip trembing. It was so hard not to cry in his arms, but I needed to 'man up' and deal with Joe once and for all.

"Guys," I said, trying to pull myself together. "I think we need to go to the cop shop first. We need to deal with this now, before I chicken out."

"Are you sure Beautiful?" Les asked, concern in his eyes could be seen reflecting in the rear view mirror.

"Yeah." Biting my lower lip, I swiveled towards Evan, leveling my eyes with his. "Did you mean what you said back there?"

"About Joe being a Mook? Sure. He's an ass and a jerk." I shook my head, no.

"No the other thing." I wasn't going to say it first. He's the one who told Joe he was my boyfriend.

"You mean about being your boyfriend?" He smiled sheepishly. "Well... only if you want it to be. I'm sorry, it just kind of came out before I could stop it. I thought maybe it would make him back off. Is it ok? Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Evan. I can't believe you would want to date me." I shook my head and sighed. "I'm a walking disaster. You know that. I blow cars up, I get my apartment firebombed, I fall into garbage, I trip and fall a lot, and I am usually the cause of one of you guys getting shot or hurt. Why would _you_ want to date me?"

"Angel. I can't help myself. I'm addicted to you. I can't see my life without you. Your laugh makes my day. I want to make you laugh, I want to make you happy, I want to make love to you. But if anyone should be trying to back away, it should be you. I have another six months left on my contract with Uncle Sam, I am not the easiest person to get along with..." He paused trying to be tactful. "I... I've killed people. I don't know if you can put that aside."

"You dumbass!" Les called over his shoulder. "She cares about you. Not what you've done. Now man up and kiss her already, you're killing me here!"

Evan smiled at me, I smiled back. "Really?"

"Yeah." I answered never letting my eyes leave his warm green eyes. "I don't care what you've done or what you have to do for your contract. I knew about it a long time ago. I just want you." I flicked my eyes to his lips, willing him to kiss me.

While looking deep into my blue eyes he leaned forward stopping meer millimeters from my lips. "So, Angel. Will you be mine?" He softly laughed.

In a breathy whisper, I replied, "Yeah I do." And then his lips met mine. Fireworks exploded behind my closed eyes. He deepened the kiss, and not only did my pulse quicken so did my breathing. His tongue probed my lower lip, asking for entrance. I opened allowing his tongue to touch mine, and I think I moaned. My arms wrapped around his neck, his arms slid around my back holding me fast. He teased nipping at my lips, and playfully drawing my tongue to match his. He moved to nibble down my jawline and neck, stopped at where my neck met my shoulder and sucked gently which made me melt. The sound of Les clearing his throat, finally broke us apart. My fingers traced my still tingling lips, my breath ragged and my head in the clouds. I turned to look at Evan. He had the biggest grin spread across his face, he leaned forward to fist bump Les.

"Right on, Man. It's about time you two got together. Now can we get this shit done and get back. Ranger's gonna call us to the mats about Morelli, and I'd like to catch a nap first." I giggled and winked at Evan.

"Let's go see who is working the desk. I need to file charges."

Both Evan and Les escorted me out of the SUV, into the building and up to the front desk. I smiled seeing Charlie still on desk duty. "Hey Charlie. What did you do to get extended desk duty?"

"Hey Steph. I accidentally backed my cruiser into the chief's car." He sheepishly smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like you can see that tiny little thing when you look out the rear view." I giggled, then let my smile fade. My chin fell to my chest, letting me stare at the floor. He noticed my change and gentley asked, "Are you here to file charges?"

I whipped my head up, "You know?"

"Steph, all the Berg knows now. Eddie's wife, your cousin Shirley, was standing just outside the doors when it all went down. She saw the whole thing. She was so upset she came here looking for Eddie. She told us she'll testify againt Joe if it comes to it. Couldn't believe that he could say those things to you. Are you alright, Hun?"

Evan's protective arms wrapped around me. "Yeah, I'm ok. It just scared me for a minute. Charlie," I paused looking his directly in his eyes. "I need to file harassment charges against one Joseph Anthony Morelli, Detective Trenton PD."

Evan nodded, "And I want to press charges against him for threats and assault."

"Are you sure, Hun?" Charlie asked. I gave him my best Berg glare. "I know you do, but I still have to ask."

"Yes. He threatened Evan and he won't leave me alone. Even after I've told him to. It needs to stop."

"Alright, let's get the paperwork started."

An hour and fifteen minutes later, we left Trenton PD and headed back to Rangeman. It was nearly 1800 by the time we pulled into the underground parking and dragged our exhausted butts out of our seats. Waiting on us with arms folded, blank faces in place were Ranger, Tank, Bobby and what seemed like half of Rangeman.

"Babe."

"I filed charges against Joe."

"I know. You ok?"

"Yeah, Evan helped me."

"Evan?" Ranger's blank face faltered only slightly before it resumed it's normal self.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant Ram." Ranger's eyes flit to Evan's, narrowing slightly. "He filed charges against Joe, too."

"Ok. Let's get your things up to your apartment and then you and _Evan_ can meet the core team in the conference room in 30." I noticed Ranger had emphasized the name Evan in his order to meet him later. We nodded understanding his orders. He turned on his heels and strode back up the stairs to his office.

"Little girl. You should have called us when Morelli showed up. Ranger's mad as all hell." I lowered my head to look at the ground.

"Sorry Tank. I didn't have time to do anything. There was just enough time for the guys to block him before he started in on us." I looked at Tank, he held out his arms and I walked into them accepting his comforting hug. "I wasn't until Evan told him that I was his girlfriend that he backed off a little." I stopped and realized I had just told half of Rangeman that we were dating. OOPS! I quickly looked at Evan and smiled. The biggest shit eating grin crossed his face, while I heard grumbling come from most of the men. They had the looks of shock and disbelief across their faces.

"Be glad Ranger didn't hear you say that, Babygirl." He turned to Evan. "Are you dating?"

"Yeah, we made official earlier today."

"Better that you and Babygirl tell Ranger in person. Before any of these guys do." I nodded and reached out to take Evan's hand. "Go ahead and head up there, the guys and I will carry your things to your apartment." He stopped and put a hand on Evan's shoulder. "Happy for you two. But if you hurt her man... you're dead." The seriousness of his voice carried all the weight needed to convey his message. Evan nodded his head once letting Tank know he understood his message.

"Angel, we better go talk to Ranger." He placed his hands on the small of my back leading me to the elevator.

"You think he'll kill me after he kills you?" I smiled weakly, trying to make light of the situation.

"Hope not." Sad thing was... Evan was serious.

We knocked on Ranger's office door, waiting for him to acknowledge us. "Enter." I followed Evan into the room, wringing my hands. I sat in one of Ranger's leather guest chairs, Evan stood behind me, arms crossed over his massive chest. "Babe..." His face turned, "Evan."

"Ranger, we..." I sighed looked to Evan for strength, and turned back to Ranger. "We have something to tell you."

"Babe, I already know." He sat back in his chair steepling his fingers, placing them over his lips. "I knew as soon as you got out of the SUV."

"You knew?" I shot a look of disbelief at him. "How?"

"You looked different. You were glowing. And the way you looked at Ram, it was obvious to me." He simply answered.

"_We_ don't want you to be angry. _I_ don't want you to be angry."

"I'm not. I'm not really happy with the situation, but I'm not angry. Babe, your happiness is all I care about. Whether it's with me or Ram. It doesn't matter to me. As long as you are happy."

"You're not going to send Evan to some third world country in a cargo box with only the clothes on his back and a toothpick are you? You'd make me mad if you did that."

Ranger chuckled, "No Babe. I won't send him away, unless he hurts you. Then he's fair game. He'd wish he were dead first, then I'd send him away." Ranger gave Evan a look of warning. I hopped up and ran into Ranger's waiting arms hugging him. A groan left his lips when I kissed his cheek, I blushed knowing this was hard for him. Knowing he still loved me, I felt a little guilty that I was moving on. But I could see the love for me in his chocolate brown eyes. He was just wanting me to be happy, so I would do what I could to be happy. I released myself from Ranger and walked into Evan's strong arms. Ranger's eyes sparkled for a moment before he added, "We better make our way to the conference room. Core team is waiting."

Ranger led the way, Evan held my hand as we walked into the room. Lester was beaming, Bobby was holding his head in his hands, Tank was smiling, Cal and Hal both looked at each other before looking back to Evan and I. Cal put his hand out to Hal, and in return Hal handed over $50 to him. "Told you Ram would still be in one piece."

Hal grimmaced. Evan pulled out a chair for me then lowered himself into the one next to it. We focused our attention on Ranger and what he had to say.

"Santos, report."

"As you know, Beautiful has been having problems with Morelli lately. And today was no exception. We had just left the main mall building headed to the SUV. Morelli intercepted us midway, a verbal exchange was made, and threats were made against Beautiful and Ram. Beautiful informed him to 'FUCK OFF'." Ranger snickered at that admission. "Ram informed Morelli that he was dating Beautiful now, and to back off. Morelli lost it and threatened to kill Ram, and said Beautiful was 'his'." All the men in the room began to show pure rage at the retelling of what had happened. Calming himself a bit, Les continued. "We then left, dropped Bobby at his SUV, and headed to the cop shop to file the reports."

"Anyone else see or report the incident?"

"My cousin, Shirley Gazara, Eddie's wife. She went over to TPD to tell her husband what happened. She is willing to testify if it comes to it. She witnessed the whole incident. She thinks Joe is an ass."

"Babe. He is." Ranger stated quietly. "Cal, I need to get a copy of the surveilance tapes from mall security. Call in the favor they owe us." Cal nodded and left the room to retreive the tapes.

"Ranger?" I asked looking into my lap while chewing on one of my fingers. "What if he doesn't back off?"

"Babe. He will. Ram will make sure of it." He nodded to Evan and turned to walk out the door. "Dismissed."

"Angel?" I raised my eyes to see Evan looking at me a little worried. "Are you oaky?" I shot up and sat in his lap, his strong warm arms wrapping around me. "Shhh... It's okay Angel. It's Okay." I began to cry again. The other guys quietly left the conference room, leaving us in peace. Soon enough, I quieted to a few hiccups and my tears ceased. "You hungry Angel?"

"I could probably eat a horse."

"I don't know about a horse, but how about a pizza and beer?"

"I could do that. But I really don't want to go into Pino's tonight. Can we order in and eat it here?"

"Anything for you."

**A/N: So I guess it really wasn't too much of a suprise that Steph's new love interest is Ram, considering the last 3 chapters. Please read and review! -Tiff**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own JE's character's, and I still don't make any money from this.**

****Smut warning****

**Chapter 5**

Relaxing on Evan's leather couch felt heavenly. It smelled like his cologne and was warm and comfy. I guess I fell asleep, because next thing I knew he had returned from Pino's and had the pizza and beer sitting on the coffee table. "Angel. Wake up, Honey. Time to eat." I felt his warm lips on my forehead. My eyes blinked opened to see his beautiful green eyes staring back. "There she is. There's my Angel." I smiled. Yawning, I stretched my arms and legs.

"You got the good stuff?"

"Only for you Angel. How about a beer and a slice of pepperoni?"

"Mmmm... sounds good. Can we watch a movie too?"

"Take your pick." He gestured towards his HUGE collection of DVD's sitting in his entertainment center. As I perused through, I found out that he liked a lot of war movies. But after about ten minutes I managed to find something I thought I'd never find... a chick flick! Hope Floats was stuffed into the back behind a bunch of run of the mill fitness training videos. I pulled out the DVD, and popped it into the player. Evan returned from the kitchen carrying plates and napkins. "Find one?"

"Yeah. Never figured you to have a chick flick." He cocked his head slightly to one side and then the realization slowly crept in. "Damn. You found it didn't you?" I nodded and giggled.

"What? Do you have a thing for Sandra Bullock?" He smiled.

"You really are nosey. That was stuffed behind my old workout videos. You really had to dig to get to them." He hung his head. "Yeah, I really do like her. She's cute and funny. I guess we're watching it tonight, huh?"

"Yup! Now pass me a beer."

Evan managed to put away most of the extra large pizza, I only had three slices. Sipping on our beers, we snuggled into the couch with me lounging against him. Soon, I had kicked off my shoes and had drawn my feet up, laying my head in his lap. He was drawing lazy circles on my back with his fingers while totally absorbed in the movie. It felt so right being in Evan's arms. It was as if this is where I was meant to be my whole life. I smiled and watched Sandra Bullock's character dance with Harry Connick Jr.'s character. I once again lost myself into movieland. After the credits rolled, we cleaned up the living room and I grabbed Evan into a bear hug. "I love spending time with you."

"I do too. Let me walk you back to your apartment." He grabbed my hand and led us out his door. We walked the 40 or so feet down to my door. Turning to look at him, I asked him, "Want a cup of coffee?" I smiled sweetly, secretly hoping he would come in.

"Is it really coffee you're after or my hot body?" He laughed softly, looking deep into my eyes.

"I can't lie to you. It's your incredibly sexy body." I whispered. I opened my door dragging him in with me. Once the door shut, he pulled me to him kissing me into oblivion. I moaned and moulded my body to his. His tongue traced the shell of my ear, I shivered in response. "Oh, Evan," I breathed. His hands began to roam over my backside and back. His fingers knotted themselves into my hair bringing his mouth hard into mine. Shifting downward slightly, my tongue shot out licking him on his neck. I nibbled down to the the junction of his neck and massively muscled shoulders, and bit down hard. He moaned and brought my mouth back up to his. Our tongues dueled, I tasted his skin, again and again. He nibbled my ear lobe sending shivers down my spine, garnering a throaty laugh from me. I became only too aware of his huge bulge when I shifted myself against him. He broke us apart, breathing raggedly, hugging me fiercely.

"I have to ask you. Are you protected? Do I need to stop?"

I kissed his adams apple. "I'm good. I get the shot every month. Plus, all my 'tests' have come back squeeky clean. How about you?"

"Clean. As always." He smiled down at me. "Would you do something for me?"

"Sure." I answered dreamily. "What?"

"Try on what I got you from Victoria's Secret?" He smiled, but I could tell he was praying I would say yes.

"Do you have it here?"

He nodded, "The guys brought it up with the other things. Do you remember which bag it's in?"

"I know exactly which one. Give me five minutes." I scooted into the bedroom and franticly searched the room for the bag. After I moved a few of the larger bags, I spotted it sitting against the bed. I carefully pulled the tissue paper aside to reveal a long midnight blue satin nightgown and matching thong panties. They were beautiful, black lace edging the smooth blue satin. Quickly pulled off my clothes and I dressed into the nightgown. I then cleared the shopping bags into one corner and out of the way. Just as I placed the last bag, I noticed Evan in the doorway leaning on the door frame, arms crossed over his chest, legs crossed. His eyes had changed from a soft warm green to a smouldering dark forest green. He strode over to me swept me off my feet into his arms and kissed me deeply. Carrying me over to the bed, he whispered into my ear. "Angel I have dreamed of this for years. I want to make this about you. You are so beautiful."

He laid me down gently on my back and lowered himself on his side next to me, moulding his body to mine. He traced my jawline with the back of his finger. Lowering his forehead to mine, he inhaled deeply breathing my scent. "You smell so much better than I remember."

"The hospital?" I asked quietly. He nodded.

"I knew right then and there that I loved you for sure. I couldn't have let you go that night even if Ranger had been there. I needed to be there for you. You needed me."

"I need you again Evan. Right now. Make love to me." I asked in the sexiest voice I could muster.

He lowered his mouth to mine and it was if the outside world ceased. Time stood still. There was nothing but Evan and I. He slipped one strap of my nightgown down off of my shoulder kissing the spot where it had been. His focus shifted to the other side, slipping the strap off that shoulder and kissed it as well. He trailed a line of kisses across my collar bones and up my throat. A warm and familiar fuzzy feeling crept across my body, totally enveloping me making my breathing increase and my eyes to dilate. Evan reached up and pulled his t-shirt off casting it aside. A sharp inhale showed how intoxicating the sight of his bare chest was to me. The well defined muscles of his chest and six pack abs were thrilling to say the least. They rippled with every move he made, flexing and stretching with every shift of his position. I kissed the crook of his neck, his adams apple and the tip of his cleft chin. I pushed him onto his back as I manuvered onto my side propping myself onto my elbow. I smiled knowing he was anticipating my next move. Before he could react, I moved to straddle him as I bent down to take one of his nipples in between my lips. He hissed and sucked in a breath. I slowly circled his right nipple with my tongue before switching to his left. I could feel his bulge increasing in size under me. Feeling playful, I shifted slightly grinding myself against his growing erection. He groaned in frustration.

He whipped me onto my back, placing him atop of me. His forearms were holding him off of me just enough to allow me to breathe comfortably. "Angel, I can't last much longer. I need to make love to you soon."

"I'm ready Evan. I want you..." I breathed into his ear, "I need you." With that he rolled himself off to one side and helped me strip the night gown off over my head. He captured one of my nipples in his mouth, sucking and laving it into a tight bud. A frustrating throb began in my doodah and radiated outward. His lips switched to my other nipple and I moaned his name with pleasure. "Evan."

He moved off of me long enough to take his boots off. Hearing the thumps of each boot hitting the floor made my smile even bigger. He stripped off his cargos. _I knew it..._I thought,_ commando!_ He covered my body with his, kissing me again. Our tongues slid against each other raising my temperature, and his. His hands were gently kneeding my breasts, peaking my nipples into tight buds once again. My hands wandered across his back and to his tight ass. I grasped a cheek in my one hand and squeezed. I moan of pleasure ripped from his throat. Evan raised himself up and worked himself down my body. His kissed between the valley of my breasts. Gasping, my fingernails grazed his back. His lips traveled lower to my midsection. His tongue slipped out and circled around my belly button. I moaned and sucked in a slow breath. My warm fuzzy feeling had turned to an inferno, consuming my whole body. The throbbing had increased to a incessant pounding.

Evan placed his thumbs under the waistband of my thong. He tugged it down and off of my body. He slowly kissed me, whispering sweetly to me, "Angel. I've loved you for years." "I want you make love to you." "I want to watch you as you cum with me." "Oh. God. I want to make you cry my name." His fingers worked their way down my body, stopping at my trimmed thatch of curls. I watched his eyes darken again to nearly black as his finger slid into my wet center. I writhed and gasped in pleasure. He moved his hand in a slow and deliberate rhythm. His thumb found my sensitive nub, gently rubbing it into a tight bud. I soon found myself nearing the edge, I was gasping and begging, "Evan please! Please! Oh, God!"

He smiled and begged me, "Angel let go. Let it happen. I want to watch you." And with his words I fell over the edge. My world exploded. I grasped at anything within reach, convulsing with each contraction. He positioned himself between my legs, his hard shaft hovering over my wet center. He probed gently with only his head, kissing away my moans. "Angel, I want to hear you call my name."

He thrust into me. I screamed, "Evan!" as I fell over another edge, cumming again. He grunted with the satisfaction of feeling my contractions, burying his face in my hair. He slowly started to move his hips, I clawed at his back, kissing him with wild abandon. He looked into my eyes, making me feel like I was the only woman on earth. I closed my eyes as I neared another edge.

"Angel. Look me in the eyes. I want to see your soul." A few strokes later, I fell over the edge again. I tried to close my eyes. "Angel, keep them open. Watch my eyes. Watch me make love to you." I opened my eyes wide as I rode the waves of pleasure. My hot sheath convulsed and contracted around him, taking him to the point of no return. His pace quickened and a moment later I watched his soul merge with mine as he came. He shuddered and called out my name in a hoarse yell, "Oh, Angel!" He collapsed onto me, still inside me. I kissed him, enjoying the feeling of his weight on me. His breathing was still ragged and coming in shallow gasps. I giggled, thinking of how sexy he looked when he merged with me.

"You made me feel like I was the only woman on earth."

"Angel. To me, you are the only woman on earth." He rolled off to allow me to have some room to move. "You are my world, you are my life and you are my woman."

A smile spread across my face, and I gently rubbed his cheek with the back of my finger. "I love you too, Evan. I knew it the same night at the hospital as you did." He smiled and kissed my temple. "I knew it. It felt so right being in your arms. It felt so right knowing that you wouldn't leave me." I laid back resting my head on my pillow. "I knew that you would always be there for me even if Ranger couldn't." A lone tear streaked down my cheek.

"What's the matter Angel?" He whispered.

"I never thought I would ever be this happy ever again." I hugged him drawing strength from his warm embrace.

"Can I tell you another secret?" He asked seriously. "I never thought I would ever be happy. Ever." He shifted so my head laid on his chest. "I had resigned myself to the fact I would always live the batchelor life. I knew no one would be able accept my life or my job. It's a hard life, and I wouldn't expect anyone to change just to make me happy."

"Guess you're lucky I know what to expect from you and your life. And you won't ever have to worry about me asking you to change or give anything up for me. I love you just the way you are Evan Michael Ramsey." He hugged me, kissing the top of my head.

"I love you too, Stephanie." It felt odd having him call me by my first name. I had grown so accustomed to him calling me by my pet name. It was funny being able to tell the man I love how I felt, as well as to hear about his feelings. It felt right. I didn't have any hesitations or qualms about voicing how I felt with him. We fell asleep in each other's arms, our legs intertwined. I loved Evan and he loved me.

**A/N: Sorry, I couldn't help it. I gotta have myself a little smut here and there, have to keep me interested. How can I play with Ram and not think about how hot he is! Let me know what you think. -Tiff**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own none of JE's characters. JE is the Queen! I still make nothing from my works. **

**Chapter 6**

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**_We awoke to my alarm going off at 0430. I groaned and hit the snooze button. Evan gently slid out from under me and headed for the shower. Upon hearing the water running in the shower, I rolled over and dragged my ass out of bed. I threw on a robe and headed for the shower. When I entered the bathroom, Evan had exited the shower and had a towel slung low around his waist. I swallowed hard and tried in vain to keep my hands to myself. _DAMNNN! He looks good enought to eat!_

"Angel. I know I'm edible in the way you're thinking, but there's not enough time before we have to hit the gym."

My eyes grew as large as saucers. "Out loud?"

"Yup. You never could really control that could you?" He laughed.

"No. I used to get into trouble with my mother all the time because as she put it, I had 'a mouth that has a mind of it's own'. You can only imagine the trouble it got me into when we were at church." I shook my head remembering the sore knees I had from all the kneeling while I recited hundreds of Hail Mary's.

Evan snickered. "Can't be any worse than I was as a kid in church. I accidentaly set our confessional on fire one day. The priest damn near beat me to death, until my brother stepped in and told him he knew who had been stealing the sacramental wine. The priest stopped and backed off. He lied and told everyone that it was a candle that had been knocked over that started the fire. He never brought it up again. Justin saved my ass that day. I still owe him, and he never lets me forget it."

"You set it on fire? You bad boy, you." I stroked his cheek with the palm of my hand, his eyes closed enjoying the feeling of the skin on skin contact. "Justin? Is he older or younger than you?"

"Younger by eleven months. Junior is older by 4 years. Guess that makes him 37 now."

"So that makes you 33? Nice to know you aren't that much younger than me."

"Hey I like older women. Espceially this one." He snuggled up behind me wrapping his arms around me nuzzling his face into my hair. He looked at his wristwatch and scooted out of the bathroom calling over his shoulder, "Angel we better get a move on. It's almost 0500!"

We walked into the gym at 0459, and noticed we were the last to arrive. A knowing look from Les and Tank made me blush. They knew Evan had spent the night at my apartment. The guys in the control room probably spilled the beans first thing this morning. Damn, I better think of a good way for payback.

Bobby waltzed in carrying an armful of papers. He set the stack on a table near the door, selecting the first. "Morning Gentlmen, and Lady." He nodded in my direction. "The eval reports are finished and I am suprised to say that one of you has not passed your eval as expected." Murmers of the guys filled the room. We all wondered who was going to get canned. If you didn't pass the eval, you couldn't keep your job. I was afraid to see who was going to lose their job. "This employee, was a great suprise, to tell you the truth. I had expected this person to be at acertain level and it was a shock to find out that this person not only met the criteria, but _SHE_ passed all the levels I expected and kicked them in the ass!"

At this time I realized Bobby had said the word SHE. ME? OH, God he was telling everyone! I hated when the attention was drawn to me. Damn him. I glared at Bobby who at this point was glowing with pride. "Our very own Bomber, has passed the eval with flying colors. Her push, pull and sit ups were one and a half times the expected numbers, her mat takedowns were twice above the expected, and I have to announce she matched Santos in his timed run distance." Most of the guys were grinning, and those who weren't were standing with their mouthes hanging open eyes wide. "For her body weight and size, compared to us men, She's in better shape than Ranger." With that my mouth dropped open and my legs failed me. I sat down hard onto the mat.

"Better than Ranger? How can that be?"

"All the times you forced yourself to the gym and training with us Bomber, it really paid off. Not to mention all the running you do chasing your FTA's." At that the guys died laughing.

I smiled, "See, being myself really pays off. Maybe chasing FTA's isn't so bad for my waistline after all."

"Not from where I'm standing Babe."

"Thanks Ranger. Did you hear Bobby? About my eval?"

"I'm proud of you, Bomber. You really have been putting in the time and effort and it shows."

I smiled at Ranger and Evan. Evan pulled me into a hug from behind. "Maybe you could learn some more martial art moves from Les, if he's got free time."

"I don't know? Do you think I'd like that?" Thinking for a moment, I decided to go for it. "Maybe I will ask him."

"Babygirl. I could help you with defensive driving if you want." Tank suggested, his smile wide and genuine.

"Thanks Tank."

"Hey Bomber." Hal and Cal ever inseperable, came to my side. Hal spoke first, "We could teach you effective takedown techniques."

Cal punched him in the arm, 'We're already doing that as it is. How about we teach you about using GPS and navigation using a map? I don't know how many times I was sent into a new area and was glad I knew how to get around without getting lost."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I can't count how many times I have left Trenton only to get lost or turned around. I think you guys have had to save me on more than one occasion."

"Babe. I was listening to the men and I think it's a good idea for you to broaden you horizons and accept the help. It will only help you in the long run. And if you are willing I can teach you the art of stealth."

"Oooooo!" I jumped up dancing around singing. "I'm gonna be Ranger! I'm gonna be Ranger!"

"Babe. I'll teach you how to get around your enemy without being detected. And how to make your approach for the takedown."

"I'm going to need that." Looking at Evan, I winked. He knew exactly what I was thinking and he winked back. I could learn to get Evan and myself around the surveilance camera and prying eyes.

"Angel. I know you don't like guns, but I'd like to get you a least confortable with your sidearm. If it's okay with you?" Evan offered. I reached over and hugged him.

"I'd like that Evan." The look of suprise and amusment that came from the other guys was funny.

Hal looked at me and then to Ranger. "Evan? Who the hell is Evan?"

I blushed and giggled. "Ram, you big dork! It's Ram's first name."

Hal blushed. "Oh. Sorry. I just never really thought about it before." He turned to Evan. "Sorry, Man." Evan nodded, with a smile. "Hey Bomber, you called me a big dork! Do you know what happened to the last person who called me that?" He slowly advanced on me, like a lion stalking a gazell. I backed up a little taking a defensive stance. "He ended up getting..." He reached for me, pulling me into a headlock. "Tickled to death!" And then he proceed to drop me to the mat holding me down. Cal, Bobby, Evan and Tank all decended upon me tickling. I was shrieking with laughter and writhing about under Hal's grip. I couldn't move and it was relentless. Finally, Hal loosened up his grip slightly and I managed to slip free. I jumped up punched Hal in the arm and made a run for it hiding behind Ranger who was doubled over, dying from laughter.

"Try and get me now Assholes!" I shot at them, from behind my human shield, sticking my tongue out. "Ranger's on my side. He'll protect me."

"Babe. Who said I was on your side?" And with that he threw me over his shoulder and strode over to the locker room. He kicked open the door and carried me over to the showers. All the guys from Rangeman followed, laughing and joking. Ranger grabbed a jump rope off of the equipment wall and set me down long enough to hog tie me. He set my teetering ass on the cold tiles in front of the showers. I stared at him wide eyed nervous as to what would happen next. "Babe. Welcome to Rangeman... officially!" And with that he turned the showers on cold... full blast. I screamed as the first drops of icy water hit me. By the time Evan pulled me out I was frozen and laughing my ass off.

"Angel. We better get you changed into some dry clothes before you get sick." My teeth were chattering too much for me to answer verbally, so I just nodded.

Evan carried me to my apartment, opened my door and brought me into the bathroom. "Angel you need to strip down and get into the shower to warm up. I'll bring you some hot coffee afterwards. Do you think you can undress by yourself?" I shook my head, no. I didn't think I could. I was shaking too badly. So, Evan helped me shimmy out of my wet clothes and into the warm water streaming from the showerhead. Thirty minutes later, I emerged considerably warmer and wrinkled like a prune. I wrapped myself in my robe and was met at the bathroom door with a steaming cup of hot coffee. "Here, this should help, too."

With my teeth chattering comsiderably less I asked Evan, "Why did you let him do that to me?"

He smiled. "You got off easy. Normally they strip you naked and cover you with anything sticky or gooey. They stripped me naked, covered me with axle grease and threw flour on me before throwing me into the shower. It took me three weeks to get it all off. But the gist of it is, it's a little bit of an initiation ceremony. They are officially accepting you as 'one of the guys' here at Rangeman. And it's about time. You've been working here for almost a two and a half years."

"Wow. I guess I should be flattered." I rolled my eyes." But how come I never heard about Binky or Woody getting this kind of treatment?"

"We figured you didn't want to see them naked." He told me laughter in his eyes. "They weren't in all they're glory if you catch my drift." I giggled, knowing that the cold water had probably had a negative effect on their manhoods.

"Good to know. And glad I didn't see them that way. I'd never be able to look them in the eyes ever again."

By the time I made it up to my desk to start working it was already well past 0800. My hair was still wet, pulled back into a ponytail. Little droplets dripped onto the back of my shirt, leaving a dacent sized wet spot. All the guys I passed on the way to my desk chuckled, and shook their heads. After starting up my computer and begining my first search, I glances over towards the other cubicles in the office. Les's was across from mine and was empty. Both Hal and Cal's were too. As a matter of fact most of them were empty. I kind of felt lonely and got up to see who was left. Zip and Woody were at their desks engrossed in their searches, and Zero was fiddling with his stapler. I sat down on the edge of his desk and took the stapler from him. As I managed to open it for him I asked, "Hey Zero. What's up?"

"Hey, Bomber. Nothing much. I got stuck at my desk today because I got caught texting during a stakeout last night."

"That's too bad. New girlfriend?"

"I'm hoping she'll be. She really doesn't have that much time for me though." He frowned. "She's a nurse at St. Francis and she works the swing shift. But she's also on the overtime list so she works usually two shifts. We met the last time you were in the ER." He smiled. "Her name's Martina. But she let's me call her Marty."

"She sounds really nice Zero. I hope you get together. I like seeing my boys happy."

"Your boys?" His face scrunched up.

"Yeah, I came to the realization tihs morning that you guys are my family." I fiddled with my fingers, trying to find a way to explain it to him. "I call my nieces 'my girls', so I figured since you all are my family now, I could call you all 'my boys'."

"We're proud to bring you into our family Bomber. You know... "He hesitated a little bit. "If Ram hadn't asked you out I was going to. Hell! We all were. We all love you Steph. And we are glad you found someone to make you happy again. I'm just a little disappointed it wasn't me." He grimmaced. "Well, at least Ram's getting a little Bomber ass!" He laughed. I punched him in the arm, and giggled.

"Thanks . And for the record, I love you too Zero." I hugged him. He blushed and went back to trying to load staples into his stapler. "Hey, Zero?"

"Yeah Bomber?"

"Who was on monitor duty last night?"

"Uh, Les and Manny. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering. Thanks"

"Uh, huh."

I walked back into my cubicle knowing it had to be either Les or Manny who told everyone about Evan and my tryst last night. Manny was too private to gossip about me, so I knew he was out as a suspect. My money was on Les. He was worse than most of the ladies in the Berg. He knew everyone's business and usually told anyone who would listen. And I had to get even with him and fast. Pulling open my desk drawers I searched for something to give me inspiration. My eyes fell on a tube of superglue, and evil thoughts raced through my mind. I had a plan to get even with him, and I needed to do it quick before he came back. I tiptoed over to his desk and put my plan into action.

After sabataging Les's work area, I was feeling good about myself. I went into the breakroom and found myself a yogurt and granola bar, and plopped down into a chair to enjoy my late breakfast. Munching away at the rabbit food Ella stocked in the fridge, I watched Les exit the elevator and head to his desk. In less than a minute I heard a shout and laughter coming from a couple of the other guys. It worked! I finished quickly and headed over to see my handywork.

There sitting in his chair was Les, mad as a wet hen. He had attempted to pry the chair off on the floor, difficult in it's own right but with a few drops of glue it held fast. He soon gave up and tried to answer his ringing phone. But no matter how hard he tugged, he couldn't manage to pick it up. It was glued as well. In fact all of his office supplies were glued down, From the stapler to his paperclips. Nothing would ever leave his cubicle again. _HA! Take that Lester Santos!_ I thought to myself. Trying to maintain the best blank face I could I asked, "What's the matter Les?"

"Someone glued all my stuff down." This was too funny, and I almost let my blank face drop. "That's too bad. Did you piss someone off?"

"Can't think of anyone off the top of my head." He then stopped and turned his head slowly, realizing that something was up. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this would you?"

Feigning hurt I answered, "Who me?" And I smiled and batted my lashes at him. "Why would you think it was little 'ole me?"

"Beautiful!" Les started to advance on me, and I turned and ran like nobody's business out of the room. I hit the door for the stairs and kept running. I headed down to the firing range knowing full well Evan was down there. Just as I reached the door, I received a text from Les.

LSantos: U can run but u cant hide. i c u! Ram cant cover u all the time. paybacks r a bitch!

I texted back.

Bomber: Next time dont blab 2 every1 what u c on monitor duty! I trust u 2 help me not hurt me.

LSantos: I sorry. didnt mean 4 u 2 get mad. I make it up 2 u. but i still get u back 4 gluing my desk.

Bomber: BRING IT!

LSantos: ITS ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!

I laughed entering the range. Putting on ear protection, I found Evan targeting a paper outline of a man. He was firing his sidearm and doing an incredible job at it, too. He finished firing, cleared his weapon and hit the button to reteive his target. It swung back to him along the cable, showing he had only one hole through the target. "You only hit it once?" I teased.

"Nope. Emptied my weapon, just used the same hole." He smiled and showed where he had indeed used the same entry hole for each of his bullets.

"Show off." I smiled and hugged him. "You wanna hear something funny?"

"Sure." I proceeded to tell him about what I had done to Les's desk, why and then I let him read the texts we had exchanged. 'Remind me never to piss you off."

"Don't piss me off and you don't have to worry about it." I smiled and kissed him on the cheek before heading back upstairs to my desk to finish my searches.

After having a light lunch, my stomach started to growl around 1600. Zip popped his head over the top of my cubicle and teased, "Must feed the beast!" Blushing, I knew how loud my stomach could be. I'm suprised the guys down on 4 couldn't hear it. "Maybe we could grab a bite to eat after we clock off. Zero and Manny are going. Come with us." I hesitated a little. "Ram's got a surveilance shift tonight. We wouldn't want you to get lonely." He widened his eyes and stuck out his bottom lip to give me his best puppy dog eyes look.

Giggling I agreed, "Okay, but I want to call Evan and let him know so he doesn't worry."

Picking up my phone, I dialed his number. "Yo."

"Yo yourself."

"Hey, Angel. What's up?"

"I'm going to go to dinner with Zip, Zero and Manny. They knew you have a surveilance shift tonight so they wanted to keep me company. I'll call you when I get back to my place, okay?"

"Sure thing. Have fun," he lowered his voice a little, "I love you."

"I love you too. Be safe."

"I will Angel. Call me later."

"Okay, Bye."

"Bye." I hung up and finished the file I was researching. At 1700, I shut down my computer and gatherd up my things. I stopped by Zips desk to ask where we were going to eat. "Hey Zip. Where we going?"

"It's a suprise."

I must have had a nervous look on my face, because he reassured me. "Don't worry Bomber. You'll like it. I heard they have the best chow mein in town."

Just then my stomach growled again. Clutching my middle, I replied, "We better hurry. It's hungry again." He chuckled and we headed down to 4 to change. After changing into a new pair of jeans and the purple halter top I picked out for my distractions I headed to the bathroom. I quickly fluffed my hair and added an extra layer of mascara and lipstick before heading to the stairs to wait on the boys. When they emerged a few minutes later, I heard Zip give me a cat call. Manny came up and hugged me, "Damn Wifey. You look hot!"

Zero stood smiling shaking his head. "Damn, Ram has no idea how hot you look right now. But he will." He pulled out his phone. snapped a picture of me with Zip and Manny and sent it to Evan. A few second later my phone rang. "Uh, oh. Someone's in trouble!" He laughed.

"Yo."

"Angel, you're killing me here."

"What?" I feigned innocent.

"You are wearing that, and I can't even see you in person. God I'm having a hard time concetrating here."

"I'm sorry." I kicked the tire of Zip's truck gently. "You know, you're the one who halped pick it out for me.'

"I know. Just be careful and be safe."

"I will. Love you."

"I love you too Angel. Bye."

"Bye." I sighed and leaned againt the truck.

"DAMN! You got him around your little finger already?" Zero laughed. "He must have it bad." I punched him in his side playfully.

"You're just jealous!"

"Damn skippy!"

We all piled into the black SUV and hit the road. We joked and teased each other the entire way to the restaurant. We entered and Manny told the hostess that there was a reservation for four for Rangeman. I looked at him strangely, "Four? How did you know I was going to come with you?"

He shrugged. "We didn't. We hoped you would. We like spending time with our Bomber. Makes us feel special." He smiled and winked at me. Smiling back, I followed the guys to our table. We ordered a whole mess of food, and chatted waiting for our order to arrive. Just about this time my phone rang, again. Flipping it open, I groaned. My mother.

"Hi, Mom."

"Stephanie. What's this I hear about you and Joe having a fight outside of the Mall? How is that any way to treat your future husband? And what's this I hear about one Ranger's men saying he's your boyfriend?"

"Mom, stop." With those works, the guys quieted and listened to my side of the conversation. "Mom, I am never going to marry Joe. He's an ass."

"Stephanie Michelle! How can you say that?"

"Easy Mom. He treats me like crap. And I can't take it. And yes there was fight outside the mall yesterday. Did anyone tell you he screamed that I was his and that he would kill Ram?"

"Well, no Dear. But it still doesn't explain the fact that someone said you were dating one of those scary men."

"Mom, his mane is Evan. And yes we're dating. He's a nice catholic boy. You'd like him."

"I'm not sure of that. Bring hiim to dinner tomorrow night." I tried to think of a way out. Anything, just to not have to sit through dinner with my family. "I'm making pot roast and pineapple upside down cake." _DAMN! She knows I can't say no to that._

"Alright, Mom. We'll come. But you better give Evan a chance, I really like him."

"Just be here before 6. I don't want dinner ruined."

"Yes Mom."

I snapped my phone shut and hung my head. "Everything okay, Wifey?" Manny asked concerned.

"Yeah, just have to go to dinner at my parents tomorrow night with Evan. I hope he won't run for the hills afterwards." Sighing, I looked at the boys.

"If he stays after your grandma pinches his ass, he's a keeper." Zip offered. I doubled over with laughter. The waiter started to bring our food out and we ate and laughed for hours.

We stumbled into Rangeman around 2100. I was riding on Zero's back piggyback style, laughing and giggling, when he dropped me off at my door. "Thanks guys. I really needed that. I love spending time with you. Maybe we could make this a weekly thing?"

"We'd love to Bomber. See you tomorrow." Manny, Zip and Zero waved bye as I closed my door. Still standing in the entryway I pulled out my phone, I dialed Evan.

"Hi."

"Hi Angel. Did you have fun?"

"Yup. I gotta ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Will you go with me to my parents house for dinner tomorrow? My Mom asked me tonight."

"Sure. Do I get hazzard pay for it?"

"Evan!"

"I'm just kidding Angel. I want to. What time?"

"We have to be there before six."

"Alright. I have movement, gotta go Angel."

"Bye."

I snapped my phone shut and leaned against my door. Either tomorrow night was going to be a nice family dinner, or a complete disaster. Unfortunantely I had a feeling it was going to be the latter. I sighed and headed deeper into my apartment to ready myself for bed.

**A/N:Please read and review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I am just borrowing JE's character's for a while. I promise to be good and return them when I'm done. Again, I am still not maiking anything off of my works.**

**Chapter 7**

The whole next day flew by. Evan and I didn't even get to see each other until well after lunch. "Hey, Angel." He greeted me with a kiss on the top of my head, then leaned against my desk.

"Hi."

"You ready for tonight?"

"No. You?" Admitting I was scared.

"It's okay Angel. I can handle your mom and grandma. The only one I'm nervous about is your dad." I cocked my head to the side.

"My dad?" I was suprised. "But he never says anything."

"I know he doesn't usually, but I met him once before. You were in the hopsital and he came to me asking about what had happened. Ranger was in with you and Tank was at the office. Guess he figured I was the one to ask, being I was the only one there not looking like I was about to kill someone."

"Oh. Did you talk long?"

"Long enough for him to start telling me stories about your childhood." He smiled. "I always did have a thing for Wonder Woman," he teased.

I socked him in his arm and giggled. "Yeah. She rocks!" Now be sure to dress to kill tonight. I want my mom to love you like I do." And with that I kissed him on his super soft lips and headed to the control room.

"Hey Woody." I hugged the huge mountain of a man in front of me, his eyes never leaving the monitors.

"Hey Bomber. What's up?"

"Nothing, thought I'd break up the monotany of my work day by visiting you."

"Shucks. I like seeing you. Makes my day." He joked. "So... I hear Ram has to go to your parent's house tonight."

"Yeah. Is nothing secret around here?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"Good to know. Hey I gotta question for ya."

"Sure."

"Does Morelli have a tracker on his POS car? And don't lie to me." I could tell Woody was uncomfortable, he was trying really hard not to blurt out what he knew. "Bomber, I think you need to talk to Ranger about that."

"Woody that's not what I asked you." He slumped in his chair defeated. "Yeah. Ranger ordered one on it two weeks ago."

"Good. Who's on monitor duty tonight?"

"Um, I think it's Les and Tank. Why?"

"Just making sure I have a nice dinner tonight without any interuptions." I patted him on his shoulder. "Thanks Woody. I owe you one."

"No prob Bomber. Good night, have a nice dinner."

"Thanks."

I wandered out of the control room and into Tank's office. He was pouring over a large stack of papers and muttering to himself. I snuck up behind him and threw my arms around him in a giant bear hug. "Tank. I have a problem and I need you to help me."

He stiffened until he realized it was me. Pulling me around, he sat me in his lap. "What is it Babygirl?"

"I know you're on monitors tonight, and I know there's a tracker on Morelli's POS. Will you give me a heads up if it comes anywhere near my parent's house tonight." He stared at me, dumbfounded. "What? You didn't think I could find these things out for myself?"

"It's not that Babygirl. It's just I can't believe you can get your hands on info like this so damn quickly."

"I have my ways."

"I'll bet." Smiling, he hugged me tighter. "Don't want any unexpected visitors tonight, do you?"

"Nope. I thought you might want to give me a heads up. I have enough to deal with tonight, I don't need him there too."

"You got it. Want me to let Ranger know?"

"If you want to. I really don't think anything will happen, but I just want to cover my bases."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Evan knocked at my door at 1715. I opened it and was pleasantly suprised. He stood there dressed in black slacks, black dress shoes and a lavender button up dress shirt open unbuttoned at the very top. The shirt looked like it had been painted on and showed off his muscles where he had rolled up the sleeves mid forearm. His hair was freshly cut into his normal high and tight. He looked so damn good. I licked my lips, sending a groan through him. "Angel. If you do that one more time, we're not going to make it to your parent's house."

"If you dress like that around me one more time I'm goning to strip right here and make you stay." I teased tuggin at his shirt. He bent to capture my lip with his.

"Angel. We better go." I nodded and sat on the sofa to put on my 4 inch red FMP's. He groaned knowing what I would look like wearing nothing but my FMP's. But as it was I was sporting a casual black dress where the hem fell just below my knees. He grabbed my purse off of the table, hefting it in his hands. "Angel. Where's you glock?"

I cringed knowing he knew me well enough to know I hated to carry my gun. "In the cookie jar." He turned to look at my blackened and crispy teddybear cookie jar. It had been the only thing that had been salvaged from my old apartment. It held it's normal place on my kitchen counter. He walked over and lifted the top pulling out my Glock.

"Is it loaded?"

"No."

"Angel. You know we have to keep it on us and loaded at all times when we leave, don't you?"

"Yes." I answered quietly. "I just hate it. I'm afraid I'm going to shoot myself in the foot."

"Angel, we'll work on your comfort level tomorrow. But for tonight, lets keep it loaded and in your purse, okay?" I nodded not wanting to fight him on it. He proceeded to load my Glock with my bullets quickly and efficiently, due to the fact he was the weapons expert of Rangeman. He double checked that the safety was engaged and dropped it inot my purse. "Ok, now we can go."

He led me out of the apartment and down to the elevator. Stepping onto it we were met by Ranger. Sizing up our appearance, he chuckled. "Dinner at the in-laws?" He teased Evan.

"Hope to be soon." He answered smiling. I turned beet red and focused on the elevator buttons in front of me.

"Babe." I looked up to meet his mesmerising eyes. "You'll be fine. Ram will take care of your grandma and mother." He grew serious for a moment. "Tank talked to me about this afternoon. Consider it done. We'll call if anything comes up." He sighed. "Have a nice time." Turning to Evan he whispered, "Watch out for grandma's fingers. She loves to pinch." With that he laughed and exited the elevator at the second floor.

"Angel. Anything you want to share with me?" He stared down at me, smiling.

"I asked Tank to give us a heads up before we uh..." I paused before whispering, "have any unexpected guests."

"Got it. Glad you're taking a proactive approach to this whole situation. I don't want you to be scared."

"I know." The elevator opened allowing us to head into the garage. He led us to his personal truck parked along the rear of the garage. I stopped and stared. I never noticed it before and was a little intimidated by it's size. Before I could censor my mouth it came out. "Holy Shit! This thing is huge!" He just about died laughing.

"Whats that matter Angel? Never seen a truck like mine before?"

"Not one this big." It was massive. A silver fullsized quadcab dually, with both body and suspenssion lifts. A huge chrome light bar spanned the top matching the custom front and rear bumpers. The tires were some of the biggest I have ever seen. They looked like they belonged on Bigfoot or Gravedigger. He opened the passenger door to reveal cammo seat covers and matching floor mats inside. "Good God!"

"What? I like my trucks big."

"I can see that! How do I get in?"

"That's what I'm for." He smiled and lifted me into the truck. Settling into my seat, I buckled up and waited for Evan to climb in. The truck swayed slightly when he gripped the handle and swung himself up into the driver's seat. I nearly jumped out of my skin when he started up the deisel engine, the rumbling of the truck sent shivers up my spine. He backed out of his spot and we eased our way out of the garage making our way to my parent's house.

"You nervous?" He asked knowing full well, I was on pins and needles about tonight.

"That obvious?"

"Angel don't worry. I'll make a good impression. My Momma would kill me if she found out I didn't use my manners." I smiled, thinking about his comment.

"Your mother raised you right. You prove chivalry is not a lost art and you treat me like I'm a princess. I'm so lucky to have you."

"No, Angel. I'm the lucky one. And besides I like doing those things for you. But you're wrong about one thing."

"Oh, what's that?" I looked at him with a frown.

"You're not a princess. To me, you're my queen." He smiled lighting up his entire face. "Hey, I to ask you something."

"What Ev?" He smiled at the mention of his shortened name.

"My fifteenth high school reunion is in a week and a half. I planned on going alone, but I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. My parents would love to meet you."

I swallowed hard. _His parents? _"Really?"

"Really. I want to show the whole world the woman I love. Besides, my family has heard about you for years now and is dying to meet you."

"I don't want to impose..."

"Never. The way I was raised was you never turn down an opportunity to make new friends, and you never turn down someone who needs help. They are expecting us both to be there. In fact everyone in town is waiting to meet you."

"Town?" I gulped. Feeling like a deer in the headlights.

"Angel. Don't worry, my hometown only has a little over 200 people in it. Besides we'll be staying at my parent's ranch about 20 miles from town. Mom has already started bringing out my baby pictures for you to see."

"Okay! For the chance to see your baby pictures, I'd do almost anyting." He smiled and chuckled.

"We will have to leave next Thursday morning. Our flight leaves at 0900. We'll fly back on Monday night around 1800."

"Where are we going to fly into?"

"Helena, and then Justin's going to fly us to the ranch."

"Justin?"

"Yeah, I didn't tell you. He flies my Pop's helecopter. Usually it's during the spring and fall roundups, but for special occasions he picks people up at the airport and brings them home. If we drove it would be a four and a half hour drive one way. It's only a 45 minute flight this way." I stilled at the thought of being in a chopper. I was scared of flying as it was, now I had to endure two additional trips, in a helecopter to boot. "Don't worry Angel. He was a chopper pilot in the Army. Blackhawks. You couldn't be in safer hands... except mine."

I relaxed and smiled. "If you say so. I trust you." And with that we pulled up in front of my Parent's house. "Ready for the spanish inqisition?"

"That bad?" He winced.

"Naw... Just keep an eye out for grandma's fingers." I giggled.

He let himself down out of his truck and came around to help me down. I looked up at the house to see my mother and grandmother watching us from the front window. I never understood how they knew how I was outside. But tonight I could, the rumbling of the truck had brought my father to the window as well. Well, I thought, at least Evan had an American truck working in his favor. My Dad hated foreign cars and was die hard to the fact all his cars were american made. Red white and blue, through and through.

We walked up the little path to the door as it opened. My mother greeted us. "Stephanie I'm glad you came. And who is this nice young man?"

"This is Evan Ramsey, Mom."

I turned to Evan, "Evan this is my mother Helen Plum." Gesturing to the little old lady standing beside her, "And this is my Grandmother, Edna Mazer." My grandmother was standing ther in a fluffy purple track suit looking more like a mummified version of a certain purple dinosaur. Her perfectly curled hair was dyed to match.

"Ma'am's." Evan nodded giving his most dazzeling smile.

"Ain't he a pip! Huge muscles and everything." She grabbed his arm and led him into the house.

My mother pulled me aside, "Stephanie, he seems normal. Are you sure he works for Ranger?"

"Yes, Mom." She walked us to the living room where my dad was watching tv. My mom made the introductions, "Frank this is..." My father turned his head, and recognized him. He quickly stood up shut off the tv and shook Evans hand.

"Ram, my boy. How are you?" The look of shock plastered on my mother's face was priceless. I wish I had a camera.

"It's Evan, sir. Ram is my nickname."

"Well Evan, call me Frank." My dad turned to my mom, "What's for dinner Helen? I'm starved."

Evan and I sat talking with my father in the living room while my mom and grandma finished dinner. We were soon ushered into the dining room and seated. "Evan, Dear. Please don't be shy about eating here, I made plenty."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please call me Helen, Ma'am is so formal."

"Yes ma... sorry yes, Helen. It's just the way I was raised. My Momma would whip me for being even the least bit disrespectful."

"She raised you right."

"Thank you. I'll tell her you said that when we visit next week." He gestured to the both of us.

My grandma spoke up, "Taking her to meet the folks are you?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Call me Grandma."

"Yes Grandma. I have a high school class reunion to go to and I thought it would be a good way for Angel to meet my family." My mother smiled at the mention of my nickname.

"Where are you from Evan?" My father asked.

"About twenty miles outside of Powderville, Montana. It's in the south-eastern side of the state. My parents have a spread of about 5 thousand acres there. Rasing cattle and farming is in my blood."

"So how did you come to work for Rangeman?" My mother inquired.

Finishing a big bite of his pot roast, he answered. "I had enlisted into the Army, and made my way into the Rangers." My father perked up, staring at him, fork held in midair. "I had finished my last tour to Iraq and was unsure if I wanted to re-up. Then one of the Major's I had served under in some of my operations approached me. He said he owned a security company here in Trenton. He was interested in hiring me as the weapons specialist for his company. And I really decided that it was a good thing for me. So I took him up on his offer." He paused before he added, "I am under contract with Uncle Sam for another six months for special and black ops. But I don't plan on resigning after that..." He looked at me and smiled, "I have better things to do now, than travel around the world taking down targets."

"My word." My mother said with a hand to her chest. "You are such a nice clean cut young man. How come Stephanie never brought you around before?"

I glared at her. "Helen, would you get the dessert?" My dad to the rescue. She rose and went into the kitchen to retreive the cake, calling for me to follow behind. As soon as I entered the kitchen she stood there glaring at me with her hands on her hips.

"Why did it take you this long to find him?" She asked. "He has been there the whole time you have worked for Ranger and you never did anything?"

"Mom. I was with Joe for a while. And then I was with Ranger. It was never an option unitl now." I spat out. "Just be glad I found him at all."

"Believe me, I am glad. Maybe you'll settle down and have some babies. I never understood why you hadn't had any yet. Clara Hoffman's daughter has threee already and she's two years younger than you. Myrtle Wyzinski's daughters both have little ones. When are you going to give me grandchildren?"

"Mom!" I hissed. "We just started dating. Don't put the cart before the horse." I grabbed the cake and headed back out the door to the dining room. I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of my father retelling of his days in the Army. Evan was listening intently to my dad, while my grandma oogling Evan. "Dessert!" I said cheerfully raising my arms to show the pineapple upside down cake on the platter I was holding.

While my mother divided the cake and served everyone, my dad decided to ask the obvious question. "So, Evan. What are your intentions with my daughter?"

Evan cleared his throat and sat a little straighter in his seat. Looking straight into my father's eyes he answered confidently, "Sir, I intend to marry your daughter, in time. And I'd like for us to have a family of our own, when Angel is ready. I know it's a little early in our relationship to be announcing it like this, but I really do love your daughter. I've loved her for years."

I melted right on the spot. No fear, no apprehension and definately no worries. I leaned over and kissed him gently. "Really?" I asked awed by his admission.

"Yes, Angel. I want to marry you when we decide it's time. I love you and I want to have a family with you."

"I love you too Evan."

My mother wiped away tears of joy. My grandma whooped, "Wahoo! My grandbaby's finally hooked herself a winner!"

I smiled and blushed leaning into Evans warm embrace, I glowed knowing that he truly loved me. "Evan, can I call you Son?" My father was beaming. Evan nodded and shook my father's hand. He was happy that I had found myself a man he could respect and grow to love as a son. Jokingly he added, "Make sure the first one is a boy."

Evan grinned from ear to ear, "We'll try our damndest sir." We quickly resumed our dinner and just before finishing our dessert I received a phone call. I flashed a quick look of fear to Evan before flipping my phone open. It was Tank.

"Yo."

"Hey, Babygirl. He's a block over and headed your way. Just a heads up."

"Thanks Tank." I stood up and relayed the message to Evan.

"I'm sorry Mom. But we have to go, NOW! Joe's on his way here and I don't want another confrontation. We'll be back again soon." I kissed her cheek, my grandmother's cheek and hugged my dad quickly before I grabbed my purse heading for the door. But before I could step any further, a knock sounded at the door. Evan strode over and opened it to reveal Joe standing at the door glaring at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He ground out.

"I'm meeting my future In-Laws." Evan stated simply.

"The hell you are. Cupcake is mine, back off."

I stepped infront of Evan, "Morelli."

"Morelli? What happened to Joe?"

"What do you want Morelli?" I slowly hissed out.

"You, cupcake. I want you. Please come home with me. Leave this goon behind." He pleaded, his eyes filling with tears.

"I'm sorry Morelli. But I can't do that. Evan and I are engaged." I dropped the bomb.

"You mother fucker! I'm going to kill you. You're worse than that ape Manoso." He fumed, screaming until my dad came to the door.

"Joseph Morelli. You are no longer welcome in my home. You have embarassed yourself and your family. You have taken advantage of my daughter on more than one occasion and I will stand for it no more. Evan in going to marry Stephanie and I have already welcomed him into my family. Things will not change, so darken my doorstep no more. Leave her alone and if you decide to threaten my future son-in-law again, I will make sure you are taken care of for good." At this point he placed his hands on both my and Evan's shoulders to emphasize his point. He slammed the door in Morelli's face and strode back to the table to finish his cake.

We stood there mouths open looking at my father. I had never seen him talk that way to anyone. He looked up and smiled, "What? Can't I defend my daughter?" Now beaming he looked at Evan, "And my Son?" I rushed over hugging my dad.

"Thank you Daddy." He patted me on the arm. And then resumed eating his cake.

Evan was on the phone already with Tank giving him a report of the incident, while my mother and grandma pulled me into the kitchen. "Stephanie. If you let him go, I'll beat you senseless." My mother blurted out as she pulled together a bag of leftovers for Evan and I.

"If you don't want him, can I have him?" My grandma asked.

"Mother!"

"Can't hurt to try." She shrugged.

**A/N: Well, Steph and Ram survived their first dinner "together" at the Plums. What did you think? Please R&R. -Tiff**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I owe all the creative genius reagarding the characters to JE. I don't make a dime off of my works either.**

**Chapter 8**

We pulled up into Evan's assigned spot in the garage, and found both Ranger and Tank waiting on us. Evan carefully lowered me to the ground, and we walked over to meet them. "Babe. Your plan didn't work out too well I hear."

"At least I had warning first." I glanced sideways at Evan who nodded. "Evan answered the door and Morelli went off on him. I stepped in and tried to tell him to take a hike. But before I could really lay into him my dad stepped in and basiclly ripped Morelli a new asshole." Ranger looked to Evan for confirmation.

"It was a thing of beauty. Too bad I didn't record it." Just then I recevied a message on my phone from my grandma.

"Well, not exactly." I spoke up. "Tank, do you know how to transfer a video from my phone to a CD?"

"Sure Babygirl. Why?"

"Because I think you both better see this before it hits anymore of the Berg."

We gathered in the conference room and I handed my phone over to Tank. After he hooked up a few wires and flipped on the huge big screen tv, I sat back in Evans lap to watch the show. My grandma had recorded the entire thing, from start to finish. I don't think I have ever felt so nervous before. I knew that Evan, my dad and I all mentioned an egagment in some form or another, and I was afraid I was going to hurt Ranger. Part of me still loved him and I didn't want for him to endure any more than he had.

The first thing on the screen was Evan answering the door. And it continues from there. When it was all said and done, we sat back and stared at the blank screen. "Babe. When were you going to tell us?" I could hear a little hurt in his voice.

"Ranger. It just came out tonight. My dad asked Evan what his intentions were, and it just went from there. I'm sorry." I hung my head feeling like I now lost my best friend.

"Babe. I'm not mad." He smiled, the little creases at the corners gave it away as being genuine. "I knew how Ram felt about you since this morning when he came to see me."

"See you?" A puzzled look came over my face.

"Angel. I know part of you still loves Ranger. And I wanted to make sure I had a clear path for me to continue with you. We had a long talk about us and about the two of you. I had already decided I wanted to marry you. After our chat about the three of us, Ranger told me he received a call from both your dad and a Pentagon official this morning. He had called up to find out about me, before we came over. Apparently he has become quite close with Ranger." I looked to my right to see Ranger nod his head in agreement. "So he knew who I was and all about me before we even showed up."

"So Daddy already knew all about you and the Army and everything?"

"Yes. I didn't know it but your dad still has pretty high clearance in the Pentagon. He had asked around about me and even accessed the records of my black ops. He's one sneaky guy."

"Pentagon? Why would he have access to the Pentagon?" I was confused. "My dad always told me he came out of the Army as a private second class. How would he ever have the clearance to access your black op records?"

"Babe. He fibbed a little." The smile on Ranger's face said it all. "He retired from doing black ops when you were thriteen. He retired as Major Frank Plum US Army. Didn't you ever wonder why he was sent off to Post Master conventions at a moments notice?"

"I always figured he forgot until the last minute." My head fell into my head. "I had no idea."

"Angel. He did it to protect you. And after talking to both Ranger and your dad I understand why he did it. We all love you and want to make sure you are safe and protected." He paused to look into my eyes. "I meant what I said about loving you, about wanting to marry you and about us having a family." He grabbed my hand and knelt at my side. "Stephanie, I know we haven't really dated for long. But I love you with all my heart and soul. I wanted to wait to do this but I can't think of a better time than now. Angel, will you marry me. Will you become Stephanie Michelle Ramsey?"

I looked at Evan, turned my head to Ranger and then to Tank. My world began to spin, black dots formed before my eyes. I blacked out just as I heard Evan say, "She's losing it..."

_OUCH! My head hurts. What the hell happened? I remember having dinner at my parent's house, then... Oh GOD! Morelli showed up and Evan answerd the door. It all came flooding back. Daddy, the phone video, and Evan... Oh Evan! He asked me to marry him. I need to open my eyes. I need to get to Evan._

My eyes fluttered open, focusing on a pair of beautiful green eyes. "Hey, there's my Angel." Evan kissed my forehead. I realized I had someone holding my hand and it wasn't Evan. I turned my head to see, Ranger smiling stroking my hand with his.

"Babe. Welcome back. You've been out for about ten minutes." He sighed with relief. He scrunched up his face and gently admonished me, "Don't do that. You scared the crap out of me."

I smiled. "I scared Batman! Sorry, you'll have to turn in your bad ass card. Wimp."

He laughed out loud hard, doubled over. Tank was slapping the table, tears streaming down his face. Evan was shaking his head, trying desperately to hold in his laughter while I giggled.

Bobby sat me up and handed me a bottle of Gatorade. "Here Bomber. Drink this, it'll help." I sipped the cold liquid and after a few minutes I felt better.

"Bobby when did you get here?"

"Right after you passed out, Ranger called me here to help." He kissed the top of my head. "Guess you had a long day?"

"Well, kinda. But.. Oh, God! Evan. Where's Evan?" I frantically searched the room for him. He rushed back into the room and to my side.

"I'm right here Angel." He kissed the hand he was holding. "I'm right here."

I threw my arms around him, holding him tight. "Evan I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"It's okay Angel. It's been a long day for you."

"Where did you go?"

"Ranger wanted to talk to me. But I'm here Angel."

"I never did answer you."

He placed his finger over my lips effectively shushing me. "It's ok. It can wait."

I pulled his finger aside. "No. It can't." I stood up, using the table to steady myself. "I love you Evan. I can't live without you. Yes!"

"Yes?"

"God yes!" He picked me up and spun me around kissing me.

"Guys she said, YES!" He yelled out the door. In a split second all of Rangeman was crowded around us congratulating us. We were deluged with handshakes and backslaps for Evan and kisses and hugs for me.

After the onslaught dwindled to a trickle, I excused myself to find Ranger. I found him in his office leaning back in his chair staring at the ceiling. "Carlos." He turned away from me, as I closed the door. He turned to look at me, tear streaming down his face. "Oh, God! What have I done?" I rushed to his side gathering him into my arms. He sat in my arms quietly sobbing. I held him, rubbing his back kissing the top of his head until he stopped. My tears were streaming down my own face, my heart broken for him. "I'm so sorry, Carlos."

He shook his head, wiping away his tears. "No, Babe. I'm sorry. I kept you from being happy. I was being selfish, and I didn't let you have what you deserved. Ram is the luckiest man alive. I envy him. Is that so wrong?"

"No. It's not. It means you are human. And I'm glad you are finally able to realise that. I feel guilty being the one to cause you so much pain."

"Babe. You are my world. I could never hold anything against you. I love you, you know that." I nodded. "I just want you to be happy. I'll tell you one thing, your first boy bears my name." He smiled his 2,000 watt smile, and I hugged him as tight as I could.

The sound of a person clearing their throat brought us aware of Evan standing just inside the door. "Ranger, Man... I promise I will protect her with my life. I love her and our first son will have your name." Ranger rose out of his chair, strode over to Ram giving him a hearty man-hug.

"You better. Now get her back to 4. She needs her rest."

After a good night's sleep I awoke to the sound of gentle peaceful breathing next to me. I slowly turned my head to see Evan still asleep, almost angelic in his rested state. Gingerly extracating myself from his arms, I made my way to the bathroom to relieve myself. I quickly showered and dressed before my alarm could ring. I turned it off, and knelt down next to the bed. I gently stroked his cheek with my finger, coming to rest on his lips. Replacing my fingers with my lips, I sucked his bottom lip in between mine before nipping it. His breathing changed, becoming more shallow, and as I kissed my way down his bare chest to his stomach, his eyes fluttered open. His voice a little froggy, "Good morning Angel."

"Morning Handsome." He pulled me into a hug, nuzzling his face into my hair. It was then he realized that I was already showered and dressed. He sat up quickly. "What time is it? Are we late?"

"Nope. I just shut it off a few seconds ago. It's only 0440. We won't be late to the gym if you get a move on. Now get going, I don't want to do an extra mile today because you made me late!" I called the last bit over my shoulder walking out to the kitcken to grab my cup of coffee. "Move it soldier!"

We made it into the gym at 0458, and hoped Ranger was in a good mood this morning. I settled down against the back wall, my legs sticking straight out. I noticed that someone was noticably absent, Lester. As Ranger started roll call, the door swung open banging against the wall. In walked Lester bloody, dragging himself into the room with great difficulty. He fell forward, into Ranger's arms. I screamed and ran towards him, pulling the guys aside to get to him. Bobby ran forwards grabbing me by my hand dragging me to Les's side. "Les, Oh, God! Les! What happened? Talk to me. LESTER!" He turned his head, and lifted his shirt to show a gunshot wound to his chest. I looked to Bobby, "GSW!"

Bobby barked over his shoulder, "Paramedics STAT!" He lowered Les out of my arms onto the mat. He grabbed my hand and pushed it over the wound, "Press here Bomber, keep constant pressure. I have to run and get my medic bag. I'll be right back keep him talking."

I bent over kissing Lester's forehead. "Hey, Les. Do you remember what happened?"

He coughed, wincing with the pain. "Went on run at 0400, got jumped, hit shot. 4 men, one woman. Killed one, hurt all the rest. Tired..." He started to close his eyes.

"Lester! LES!" I shouted, "Honey, please stay with me. Don't leave me. Don't you DARE leave me!" Just then Bobby ran back to us, carrying his medic bag. Woody came two seconds later escorting the paramedics into the gym. They moved their gurney next to Les, and dropped their bags. I remained at his side keeping the pressure on his GSW as Bobby told them the extent of his injuries. Bobby carefully moved my hand aside and placed his on it relieving me. "Lester, don't you leave me DAMN IT!" I yelled at him as the medics loaded him onto the gurney and carting him out of the building to the waiting ambulance. Both Bobby and Ranger loaded into the ambulance with Lester. I collapsed into Evan's arms covered in Les's blood, sobbing.

"Angel, let's get you cleaned up and then we'll head to the hospital." He picked me up cradling me in his arms, and headed for the fourth floor.

**A/N: LESTER! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but you can't always have a simple ending at the end of **_**every**_** chapter. Find out Lester's fate in the next chapter. Please R&R.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Dsclaimer:JE owns he characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while. I still make nothing from my works.**

**Chapter 9**

A sea of black clad mercenaries flooded the waiting room at St. Francis Hospital. Ranger was busy talking to a couple of detectives from TPD while I sat in Evans lap staring at the wall. It had been four hours since Les was brought in and more than three since he went into surgery. Finally after what seemed like forever, the surgeon emerged. "Family for Mr. Santos?" We all stood up and nodded. He stepped back amazed at all the people who had responded. "Um, okay. I'm Dr. Crocker. Mr. Santos is out of surgery. He did really well. The bullet did no significant damage. There was some blood loss, some muscle damage but nothing that he won't recover from. Because he was in such fit condition, it will aid in his recovery. It will be significantly faster than the average person. He's still in recovery, but I can allow two people in at a time."

"Dr. Crocker. Carlos Manoso." Ranger shook the doctor's hand. "Lester is my cousin." And motioning to me, "This is his best friend. We will be the first in." Ranger held my hand and led me back into recovery. I almost cried seeing all the tubes and wires hooked connected to Les. I reached out to touch his hand stopping short, afraid to touch him. "It's okay Babe. He would want you to touch him. He needs to know you're here, talk to him."

I gingerly wrapped my hand around his. It felt cold and limp in mine. "Hey Les. It's me, Beautiful. I need you to wake up and get better. I need to you, Les." I broke down, dropped to my knees and placed my head on his hand. I sobbed for what seemed like hours before a gentle squeeze on my hand stopped me instantly. My head jerked up, and I looked at Les. His half open eyes, looked down at me. "Les." I whispered. I stood and kissed him gently. "Hey, you're awake."

He tried talking, but with a dry mouth it was difficult. Ranger appeared with a cup of ice chips and a spoon. Handing it off to me, I placed a few chips on his tongue. After they had melted, he smiled weakly. "Beautiful," he croaked. "You said not to leave you."

"Shhh... don't talk handsome. Save your strength. I'm going to need you to get better soon. I need a man of honor for my wedding." I smiled and kissed his cheek.

He laughed lightly, before wincing with pain. "Man of honor? Now I've heard of everything." He lifting his head he turned it towards Ranger. "Any word of who did this?"

"TPD positively ID'd the DOA as Larry Sterling, a banger from Stark Street. The other four turned up at a clinic, about two hours ago. All in custody. They're in interrogation now. I have a feeling they'll crack at anytime." Les nodded and slumped his head onto his pillow.

"Rest Les. I'm going to go now, but I'll be back later." I kissed him on the lips again gently.

Walking back into the waiting room, all eyes were on me. "He's ok. He just woke up, but he's really tired." I shuffled over to Evan and curled up into his lap. He ran his hands over my back and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. When I woke, I noticed I wasn't in Evan's arms.

"Babygirl. You're awake." I snuggled deeper into Tank's chest, sighing.

"Where's Evan?" I murmured.

"He's in with Santos right now. Ranger's down at TPD, and most of the guys are back at Haywood. Are you going to stay here for a while or are you going to come back with Ram and I?"

"I want to stay with Les. I can't leave him."

"I know Babygirl. I know."

Thirty minutes later, Evan and Cal emerged from the recovery room and into the waiting room. "Look Sleeping Beauty is awake." Cal hugged me.

I smiled, "Yeah, I guess I was more tired than I thought." I slid into Evan's arms and melted into him. "I want to stay with Les."

"Angel, let's get something to eat and I'll bring you back."

"Okay Ev." He led me out of the hospital and to his truck. We drove to a nearby deli, and settled down on the tailgate to eat our sandwiches. I handed him my pickle, and he picked off his green peppers giving them to me. "Funny thing." I stated staring at my sandwich.

"Hmmm? What's funny?"

"We don't even ask each other for the pickle or green peppers anymore."

"We've been teamed up enough to know each other. What's so wierd about it?"

"I never really thought about it before." I took a bite of sandwich. "I know Lester hates mustard, Zip likes extra jalapenos, Zero hates whole wheat bread, Ranger only will eat a vegi sanwich no condiments, Tank likes extra roast beef, Hal eats two sandwiches, Cal prefers honey roasted turkey over plain roasted turkey, Woody likes extra olives, Manny hates ham, Binkie likes anything you put in front of him, and you hate green peppers. And that's just deli sandwiches. Don't even get me started with pizza from Pino's."

"Hm. I never thought about it either. I guess you're right, we do develop close relationships with those we work with."

"That's my point. I love you. But I want to let you know that all the guys at Rangeman are my family. They are all my boys. And when one gets hurt I am the one to stay with them until they're released. But you know that don't know?"

"Yes, Angel. Remember when you stayed with me for six days when took the three bullets to my back?" Evan set his sandwich down and hugged me close

"Yeah, that was hard. I had to be tranqilized by Bobby to be made to leave your side." I smiled. "I still am plotting to get even for that."

"Steph, I understand your loyalty to us. Any time we were hurt, we knew we could count on you being there for us. It made getting hurt not so bad. We always knew you'd step up and be there to care for us. Bobby calls you our 'unofficial nurse'. I will never hold it against you. It's part of your unofficial duties. It's only one of the reasons why I love you." He leaned in and kissed me. His tongue traced my lower lip asking for entrance. I opened my lips and touched his tongue with mine. Mintues later when we pulled apart, we both were drawing ragged breaths eyes hooded. "Come on, let's finish our lunch and head back to St. Francis." He whispered.

A few days later, Les was released into Bobby's care. Bobby, Tank and I brought Lester back home to Haywood to recouperate in his own place. Les allowed me to stay by his side no matter the time for day or night. Evan had been supportive and helped not only Les but me as well. Because of my dedication to Les, Evan became my last tie to the outside world. It wasn't until lunch on Saturday, a day after Les came home, that Evan pulled me away for dinner.

"I have dinner ready for you at my place Angel. Ready?" I nodded and patted Lester on his hand.

"Stay put Les. I'll be back later. If you need anything... Binkie is here, just ask."

"Okay Beautiful. Anything for you."

I pulled his bedroom door shut and held Ev's hand. He led me out of Les's place down the hall to his. Pulling out a scrap of fabric he covered my eyes before opening the door. "It's just for a moment Angel."

I stood still as he covered my eyes, tying the blindfold firm but not tight. He led me through the door, and I could smell the aroma of roses and chocolate and... "Arroz con pollo?" I pulled the blindfold off to reveal the most romantic table set for two. The room was covered with flickering candles, vases of longstem red roses on nearly every surface, and an intimate table set for two including a bottle of champagne chilling off to one side. "Evan it's beautiful!" I whispered, nearly coming to tears. He hugged me from behind, kissing my neck.

"Happy Birthday Angel." I spun around, and kissed him passionately.

"I can't believe you remembered. With everything that has happened, you still remembered." I stood in awe of such a beautiful room. And such a wonderful man. "I love you Evan Michael. No wonder I'm marrying you." I pulled his face downward and kissed the tip of his nose.

"I couldn't forget. Ranger kept asking me everyday if I had anything planned for you yet." I smiled. "Are you hungry?"

"Famished."

"For you my lady," He pulled out my chair and seated me before assuming his place across the table. With a flourish he removed the silver domes off the plates to reveal Arroz con pollo, steamed baby carrots in a cream sauce and stuffed squash blossoms.

I gasped, "It's almost too pretty to eat." He gave me a lopsided grin.

"I had Ella help me cook this meal. But she was the one to make dessert." I delivered the first bite of food into my mouth and almost cried. It was delicious!

"Evan, This is so good!" I moaned. "Sooooooo good!" We ate in silence except the occasional moan of pleasure from me. When I had finished, my plate was clean. "I can't believe it."

"What Angel?"

"I ate vegi's!" He threw his head back laughing. It felt so good to hear his laugh, after the last four days, it warmed my heart."What's next Cassanova?"

He gave me an evil smile, and replying in the worst Itallian accent ever, "Why Senorita, dessert of course!" He rose and waltzed into the kitchen only to return moments later with a covered dish and two spoons. He set them on the coffee table and retrieved the champagne. "Would like to join me for dessert on the couch Angel?"

"I'd love to." I snuggled into his giant comfy couch watching his every move. He lowered himself next to me, handed me a glass of champagne and a spoon. He then carefully balanced his glass of champagne, his spoon and the covered dish as he sat back next to me. He set the dish between us and lifted the cover. The most heavenly aroma wafted into my face. Chocolate! A chocolate souffle swimming in fudge sauce awaited me. Evan allowed me the first bite. "Mmmm... God I think I just died and went to heaven!" My eyes rolled into the back of my head, my senses swimming in all things chocolate.

He grabbed his glass lifting it, "A toast, to you Angel and another year. Happy Birthday."

I lifted mine, "To another year." As I raised my glass I noticed something in the bottom of my glass. I stopped and looked at it closer. A spent shell casing sat at the bottom of my glass. I stopped to look again my eyes never leaving the glass. I was puzzled. "Evan. Why is there a spent shell casing in the bottom of my glass of champagne?"

"So you wouldn't see me pull out the ring."

"Ring?" I turned to see him on his knee again, holding a small black velvet box on this hand.

"Stephanie, I know I already asked you to marry me. But I wanted it to be official. Stephanie Michelle Plum, will you do me the extrordinary pleasure of becoming Mrs. Evan Ramsey?" He opened the box to reveal a giant brilliant cut diamond encircled with midnight blue sapphires encased in a platinum band. He gently slid the ring out of the box and onto my ring finger.

"Oh, Evan! Yes! YES! YES!" He lowered his lips to mine, when they touched, my toes curled and I felt like I exploded. I lost all control, I pulled his clothes off as fast as he pulled mine off. We made sweet love on the couch by candlelight, surrounded by the heady scent of roses. Our cries of release were the only sounds to be heard from Evan's apartment for hours and hours.

The next five days were a blur. I was able to resume my job researching for Rangeman for most of the day while tending to Lester in the evenings for a few hours. He taught me to be a better poker player and I was able to get him hooked on my favorite tv show, NCIS. He'd never admit it to the guys, but he really got into the whole drama of the show. To tell you the truth, I think he thought Abby and Ziva were hot.

Wednesday night rolled around before I knew it and I realized I had to pack for the trip to Montana. I freaked a little, knowing I was going to meet my future in-laws. I called Evan on his phone.

His authoritative no nonsense voice answered, "Ram."

"Hi Baby."

He softened, "Hi Angel. What's up?"

"I don't know what to pack." I pouted.

"You need some help?"

"Please. I don't want to look like a bum when I meet your parents."

"You could go naked and my parents would love you."

"EVAN!"

"It's the truth Angel. They'll love you like I do. I can be there in 20. Zip and I are on our way back right now. Oaky?"

"Yes. The door's open."

"See you in 20."

Exactly 20 minutes later he strolled into my place and breathed out a slow breath when he entered my bedroom. I was sitting crosslegged on the floor with all my clothes spread out around me. "Looks like a tornado hit here."

I grimmaced, "Yeah, I know. But what do I take?"

"Jeans for sure, some comfortable shirts, a pair of pj's and a few pairs of shorts. And a dress for the reunion." He smiled, "And a bikini of you got one."

"It burned." I frowned.

"We'll buy you a new one after we get there. Freddie's store always keeps a bunch on hand for the town girls. He'll have one in your size."

Smiling I got up and started piling clothed into the black Rangeman dufflebag Ranger gave me a few hours ago. I pulled out the silver dress Bobby had picked out for me and placed it into a garment back along with a pair of matching silver 4-inch FMP's. A pair of my tennies, my black work boots and the black pair of pinup style 5-inch FMP's were shoved into the duffle. I smiled at Evan who was now sitting on my bed watching me pack. "What about your make up and hair stuff?"

"I've got a seperate bag for that." He shook his head.

"Thank God I cut my hair, I don't think I could deal with what do have to do every day. Hair, make up, and clothing choices. It's a nightmare!"

"If you only knew!" I agreed. I dumped the last of my travel sized make up into a small overnight case Ella had lent me. It was nearly full. I then stuffed and squeezed all of my hair things in as well. Evan held it closed as I snapped it shut, and locked it. "There. I'm done packing. What time do we leave here in the morning?"

"Around 0700. It will take us about 20 inutes to get to the airport. Did Ranger give you your security travel pass?" I held up my new pass. It allowed me to pass through security with my weapon, and I wouldn't get searched. God, I love working for Rangeman! Since 9-11, things became a little hairy at the airports. So Ranger and his employees were granted special permission by some mucky-muck at the Pentagon to carry their weapons and skirt security when any of us traveled. "We're flying first class. I can't fit into any of the coach seats, I'm too tall." I guess being 6'5" has both it's advantages and disadvantages.

"I've only flown first class to Hawaii."

"I heard how that went. Don't worry, this time you're engaged for real." He smiled and winked at me.

**A/N: Steph's getting married? I know, I never thought she'd get married again, either. My muse thought it was time she dropped her baggage from "the dick" and reconsider her stand on marriage. I know if Ram asked me to marry him, I'd say yes at the drop of a hat. (Sorry, hubby!) -Tiff **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of JE's character's, they are all hers. I'm just playing with them for a while. I make nothing from these works.**

**Chapter 10**

Woody dropped us off at the airport at 0730. We checked our luggage and headed for secuirty. Evan approached first. He flashed he pass, and the TSA guys allowed him to pass. I flashed mine next and got a wierd look from the same guy. "What gives?" I asked.

"Nothing Ma'am. It's just we don't see many women with these passes. I'm sorry. You are free to pass."

"Thank you." I frowned as I caught up to Evan. "Damn."

"What's the matter Angel?"

"Even with the pass I still get questioned." He chuckled.

"It's because as far as I know, you're the only woman other than female air marshalls that has a pass."

"Oh. It still would have been nice to make it through without any questions. I mean I'm wearing the same uniform you are!"

Evan bought two cups of coffee as we waited to board the plane. We sipped in silence, until I heard a familiar voice. "Oh, God! NO!" Oh, Yes. It was none other than Joyce Barnhart. She was a few rows behinds us, waiting to board the same plane. "Why me?"

"What is it Angel?" Evan's face grew concerned. "Nervous about the fight?"

"Not anymore. I have bigger things to worry about now." I gestured behind us.

"It can't be?"

"It is. Joyce is on our flight. What did I do to piss off God?" I hung my head in my hands. Then the worst possible thing in the world happened. Joyce noticed us.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Rangeman whore." She couldn't help getting in a dig. She then turned to Evan and smiled sweetly, "And who might you be, Sweetheart?"

Evan cleared his throat. He knew about Joyce and her escapades. "I'm Ram Ma'am."

"And why do they call you Ram?" She not so subtley asked. She winked at him and I swear I could hear him laughing.

"It's my name Ma'am."

"And are you single Ram?" I snapped my head up, smiled and stuck my hand out for her to see my engagment ring.

"Nope! He's all mine!" She sneered at me. "And for the record Joyce... No one from Rangeman would ever touch your nasty diseased ass, even with someone elses dick! Now beat it!"

She turned beet red and pointed a bony finger in my face. "You bitch!"

"No Joyce," I calmly said to her face, "You're the bitch! You were the one I found fucking my ex husband on MY dinnig room table before the ink was even dry on my marriage certificate. You are the one who has fucked Vinnie in the back office with God knows what kind of barnyard animals. You are the one the health deparment deemed the original source for the rash of chlamidia in the Berg." I pointed my finger in her face. "You are a walking cesspool of disease and filth. I wouldn't let my dog piss on your nasty ass. So, I suggest you turn around go back to your seat and shut the fuck up before I get security to escort your ass out of the airport!"

She huffed and turned around stomping back to her seat. A round of applause erupted from the fellow passengers surrounding us. I blushed, realising that others had been witness to me telling Joyce off. I bet before I can even make it onto the plane I get a call from my mother. Word travels fast in the Berg. Sure enough before I had even sat down, my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie? What's this I hear about you yelling at Joyce Barnhart?"

"Sorry Mom I have to board the plane now. Call you when we land." I snapped the phone shut and powered it down.

"Angel. Where did all that come from?"

"I don't know." I sank back into my seat. "I just kinda came out when she tried to sink her tallons in you. You are mine. I don't share." I laughed in my head. Those were the same exact words Ranger had used with me. Funny how things turn out, huh?

"I was so hot watching you put her in her place. You are so mine tonight!" I blushed and snuggled into his arms.

"But your parents..."

"What about them?"

"They're going to be home. In the same home. We can't do that with them there." I hissed feeling embarassed already.

"Oh, yes we can. They have their own suite on the opposite side of the ranch house. Besides I put up extra insulation in the walls when we built the place. It's damn near sound proof."

"Oh, well then. You're all mine!" I giggled, kissing him hungrily.

"Boarding call for First Class Passengers for Flight 84 for Helena, Montana. Flight 84 for Helena, Montana." We rose and made our way to the gangway, handing our tickets to the boarding services agent, she nodded and allowed us to pass. I looked over my shoulder to Joyce, smiled and waved. She flipped me the bird before turning away pouting.

"Angel. Don't feed the fire."

"I'm not. I'm just fanning the flames slightly." I gave him one of my sweetest smiles.

After the remaining coach passengers boarded, we taxied to the runway and took off. The flight itself was actually pretty relaxing for the first time in my life. Evan held my hand and talked to me telling me stories about people he knew in the service. And before I knew it we were decending into Helena. We touched down light as a feather. And rolled to a stop, after taxiing to our gate we made our way to disembark. I stopped to talk to the pilot. I shook his hand and kissed his cheek. He blushed a little before I told him, "This was the first fight where I wasn't afraid that I would die a firey death. I felt so comfortable. And that landing was wonderful. Thank you for the wonderful flight. Thank you." I hugged him again and headed out of the plane.

"Angel, think you went a little overboard on the thank yous?" He chuckled.

"Nope. I think it wasn't enough." I giggled. "Hey, where is your brother? Isn't he supposed to meet us here at the luggage claim?"

"Yeah..." He scanned the crowd. "There he is. JUSTIN!" His hand shot out above the crowd, waving. Up walked what looked like Evan's twin. Definately a family resemblence. He too was 6'5", tanned, blonde hair cut into a high and tight, cleft chin and beautiful green eyes. He wasn't quite as muscled as him, but from a distance, I might mistake Justin for Evan.

"Oh, my God there's two of you!" I stammered. Looking from one to the other.

"Nope. There's three of us." Justin stuck out his hand to shake mine. "Ma'am. I'm Justin Ramsey, Evan's younger brother. You must be Stephanie. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Please call me Steph. It's nice to meet you, too."

"Let's collect your bags and head out to the chopper." Both Evan and Justin carried our bags leaving me with only my purse to carry. We loaded our bags into a SUV and made our way out of the airport.

"Evan, where are we going? Aren't we still taking the chopper?"

"Don't worry Angel. We have to go to the municipal airport for the chopper. It's across town."

"Oh, okay." I nodded. I felt kind of dumb not knowing that.

"Steph?" Justin asked. "You ever been in a chopper before?"

"Nope. I'm a little nervous."

"I'll take it easy on you. If it were just Evan, I'd skim trees and fly like bat outta hell. But I won't do anything to scare you, I promise."

"Thanks."

"So I hear you're a pretty good bounty hunter Steph."

"Yeah, I have a 100% capture rate. Best in the country. Never would guess it by looking at me would you?"

"Now, never judge a book by it's cover." He glanced at me in the rearview, sitting in the back seat. A devilish grin spread across his face, "like you'd never know that in high school Evan here, was in the drama club." Evan reached over and punched Justin in the arm.

"Damn it man! I'd like to leave some things in the past. Angel's, going to hear enough about my high school years at the reunion." Appeasing his older brother, Justin changed the subject.

"So do you like working at Rangeman?"

"I love it. The guys have become a second family to me. It's like having 40 brothers watching over me. But it's definately the most interesting job I've ever had. More so that being a BEA."

"How so?"

"Never a dull moment. If there isn't a FTA to hunt down, there's research on not only FTA's but prospective security clients, dealing with current security clients, security installs, there's monitor duty, surveilance, distractions, and of course there's always gym time at 0500 every morning."

"Angel just blew through her first fitness eval a week ago. Brown says that for her size and weight she's in better shape than the rest of us."

"Now that says something!" He glanced at Evan for a moment before focusing back on the road. "You going to tell Momma about her ring?"

"Shit! I forgot about it." I winced at his observation. I tugged the ring off and tucked it into my pocket. "I want to tell your parents tomorrow, if that's ok Evan?"

"If that's the way you want to do it Angel. Just expect my Momma to get all emotional. When she found out that Junior was engaged she cried with happiness for three days."

"Really?"

Justin snickered. "Yeah, only because we thought he'd never marry." With that both Justin and Evan burst out laughing. Just as their laughter died down, we pulled up to the municipal airport, and drove to the far side. Pulling up to a huge hanger Justin shut the engine down and turned to look at me. "Steph, I promise I'll try to be as gentle as possible. Okay?"

"Okay. I'll let you know if I start to feel uncomfortable."

"Deal."

Walking into the hanger, I didn't know what to expect. But I was pleasantly suprised to see a normal looking six passenger helecopter with doors and windows. No gun turrets, or machine guns or medic baskets slung to the skids. Justin and Evan wheeled the chopper out of the hanger on it's little trailer, then proceeded to do a safety check on it. Twenty minutes later we stowed our gear in one of the rear passenger seats and prepared to load up ourselves. Evan handed me a helmet, complete with a built in headset. "You'll need this. It's the only way we can talk to each other when we're in flight. Just talk normal and we can hear you, just like you'll be able to hear us."

I nodded and tried it on for size. "Are you going to ride up front with Justin?"

"Nope. I'm riding next to you. I want to make sure you feel safe." Hugging him I felt better about the next leg of our journey to the ranch. "Now lets load up."

"Oh, boy!"

Evan helped me into the chopper and strapped me into my seat. Both he and Justin did the same. I reached for Evan's hand, holding it tightly. I squeeked when Justin started the engine. "You okay back there Steph?"

"Yeah. Just a little jumpy. Sorry."

"No worries."

The engine began to warm up and the vibration was gentle and almost soothing, if it weren't for the near defening roar. Justin contacted the control tower and received clearance for take off. The sensation of the take off was completely different that that of a plane. It was gentle and not at all scary as we rose into the sky. I finally was brave enouigh to open my eyes and look out the window. It was amazing! It felt like I was Wonder Woman flying in her invisible plane. Evan turned to watch me as I squirmmed closer to the window to watch the scenery below. "Hey, J. Looks like you have another convert."

"Steph. How you doing back there?"

I couldn't control my enthusiasm, "This is great! It's amazing!"

"Good to know. Want to have a little fun?"

"Go for it!" I yelled into my headset. Evan was all smiles. And I could hear Justin laughing into his headset. And with that we really took off. He skimmed us along the trees, it was like I could almost reach out and touch the tree tops. We followed the zig zag pattern of a small river for a while, weaving back and forth. I could see cattle scattering, acting as if we were some giant bird of prey swooping down to grab them up. I laughed at the feeling of freedom and was really enjoying myself. Having so much fun, I forgot about how scared I had been. I turned to Evan and mouthed the words, 'I love you', and smiled. He gave me the thumbs up sign and hugged me.

"So, wanna go out again later to see the whole ranch?"

"Great. I'd love to."

"Good because we've been over the boundary line for a couple of minutes already." I stopped and stared out of the window again. It was beautiful here. The undulating hills, the patches of trees, and seemingly unlimited sky. After a few minutes more, a complex of out buildings and a HUGE house came up on the horizon. Coming nearer, I noticed there were a large number of barns and a silo off to the right side. Tractors and a few trucks were clustered around the far side nearest the largest of the barns. And to the left was a massive ranch house. The two story behemuth was painted white with green trim, a wrap around porch surrounded the entire perimeter of the house. We slowed and Justin headed off the the far left to a marked helicopter pad. When he landed it was as if he set us upon a cloud. It was so light and gentle, I wasn't too sure we had actually landed, until the sound of the rotors and engine began to slow. Evan removed his helmet and tugged mine off as well. He opened the door and started to unload even though the rotor blades were still moving. I handed him each bag and when we were fully unloaded, Justin and Evan toated our bags towards the house. Waiting on the front porch were his parents and and his brother Junior.

"Evan! I'm so glad you're home!" The older woman warmly greeted him, hugging him and kissing his cheek. She definately was the reason the guys all had green eyes. Her startling green eyes complimented her round warm face. She stood about 5'6", was willow thin and her long blonde hair was tied into ponytail hanging down her back. She turned to me with a smile holding her arms out. "Stephanie. It is so good to finally meet you Darlin'. Evan has told us so much about you the last few years."

She hugged me tightly, and slung her arm over my shoulder turning me around to face the others. "This is my husband, Turk. And my oldest boy Junior." I shook Mr. Ramsey's hand as well as Juniors. Mr. Ramsey was an older version of Evan. His face showed the lines of hard work and sacrifice, but held a warm smile. Junior was the spitting image of his father. Only he stood about 6' tall.

"Please call me Steph. Only my mother calls me by my whole name."

"Steph, call me Momma and you can call Turk, Pop. Everyone does." She turned to Evan's older brother, "Junior, will you help Evan and Steph with their bags?"

"Yes, Momma."

"You two go up and get settled, we can have a late lunch when you come back down. Now go... scoot!" Momma shoo'd us up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, Evan led us down a long hallway. Junior was watching me out of the corner of his eye. "So, do you like Montana Steph?"

"From what I've seen so far, I'm in love." I beamed at him, and he returned my smile. We stopped in front of a set of rustic wooden double doors.

"We're here." And then Evan opened the doors to reveal a massive room. It was an open airy room with a kingsized bed off to the right, a sitting area with computer desk off to the left, and a fireplace dead ahead. I walked in and flopped down onto the bed.

"Ugh! I can't believe we're finally here." I huffed out. I was happy, but tired all the same. Evan and Junior dropped our bags and looked around the room.

"Momma left it just as you had it. Nothing has changed. There's fresh towels in the cubbards." He turned and left us in quiet solitude, shutting the doors behind him.

"Wow, you never told me this place was huge."

He sighed. "It's just a house Angel. It's what's outside that matters to me. Now let's get unpacked and back downstairs before Momma sends up a search party for us.

After freshening up a bit and putting our things away, we headed downstairs to the kitchen. It was a typical ranch kitchen, open and airy with table that looked like it could seat 12 people comforably to the one side. Momma had a large spread of sandwiches and salads for us to enjoy. We filled our plated and sat down to chat. Before we ate, Evan grabbed my hand and so did Jr. I noticed we all joined hands and they bowed their heads. Momma spoke, "Dear lord, Please bless this food we are about to receive. And thank you for blessing us with a visit from our Evan and Stephanie. In the Lord's name we pray, Amen." A chorus of Amen's followed. Momma turned to me, "I know we aren't the most conventional Catholic famiy, but we make do how we can."

"Yes, Momma." I smiled. I couldn't remembered the last time my family had prayed before a meal. It was nice and touching at the same time. Then we dug in with gusto.

While enjoying his food, Pop asked Evan, "So how long you plan on stayin'?"

"We fly out on monday night."

"Doesn't give you much time to show Steph the ranch or town."

"I'll show her Pop."

"Don't forget you promised to take care of my problem." He stopped chewing and looked to Evan. "It needs to be done before you leave."

"Yes, sir. Do you still have my equipment here?"

"Yup, in the gun room. I cleaned her this morning and bought new bullets yesterday for ya."

"Thanks Pop." He nodded.

'So, Steph. Has Evan told you anything about us?" Jr. asked.

"Sort of. He told me stories here and there when we were on surveilence together over the years."

'Well, he couldn't stop talking about you. You would think he were obsessed or somethin'." I smiled as Evan paled and hung his head.

"Jr. please, Angel is going to hear all about me from Momma as it is. Please can we talk about something else?"

"Nope. I've been waitin' for this day for 3 and a half years." I smiled looking at Jr.

"So, anything juicy you can tell me about Evan. He portrays himself as the quiet guy at work."

"Quiet? He's anything but quiet when he's here."

"Oh, _really?"_

Evan rolled his eyes and sighed. "I just try to stay under the radar at work. It's best not to piss my boss off."

I laughed, "Yeah, Ranger might call you to the mats again."

'So, Steph." Momma looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. "Is it true? Are you really the Bombshell Bounty Hunter?"

I giggled and winked at Evan, "Despite what Evan may have told you, it wasn't all my fault." I continued. "I guess I have a really bad reputation with vehicles. I always manage to have my cars either blown up, firebombed, crushed, bombed, or destroyed in some way or another. And the whole fire at the funeral home was my Grandma's fault, not mine."

They had all stopped eating, staring at me. Pop burst out into laughter, with the whole family following suit. "You picked a winner Evan."

Evan beamed and squeezed my hand. "Angel has become the unofficial nurse at the office. She's the one who sits with the guys at the hospital when they get injured. And she's the one besides Brown that tend to us when we get home."

"So, you're the one that sat with Evan after he got shot." Momma asked, tears in her eyes.

"Yes, Momma. I had to be drugged by Bobby to get me to leave his side. But after I came to, I was right back by his side." I sobered and looked to Evan.

"She's the one caring for Santos since he got shot last week."

"Lester! Is he ok? My poor Lester." Momma nearly cried. She was wringing her hands and begun to pace the kitchen.

"Momma. He's ok. It was really just a flesh wound. He'll be back on desk duty next week." Evan tried to placate her.

"All you boys when you visit me make me worry when you leave. I hate being so far from you."

"I know Momma. I hate being far away, too. But at least I can visit." She calmed down and sat next to Evan patting his hand. She turned to me and before I could blink she was up and retreiving a huge stack of photo albums. Evan groaned and placed his head on the table. "Why me?" He ground out.

"Steph, Dear. I thought you might want to see a few picture of Evan when he was younger."

"Absolutely!" The next three ours Momma, Evan and I poured over the old albums. We sipped coffee while she recounted stories that accompanied the photos. There were ones from the day he was born. "Hard to believe you were only six pounds when you were born. Look at you now." I joked.

Pictures from Halloween, Christmases past, birthday parties, and first days of school were spread around us. Then Momma stopped and looked at me studying my face. "Steph, dear. How is your family?"

"They're fine. Thank you for asking. I don't know what Evan has told you but I can tell you about them if you would like." She nodded. "My dad is retired from the post office as Post Master, my mother has always been a stay at home mom, my Grandma is... well, a little nutty, and my sister her husband and her three girls live not too far from my parents."

"What about you dear?"

"Well, I grew up in the Chambersberg section of Trenton, New Jesrey, I graduated from Rutgers with a degree in business, and I used to work for E.E. Martin as a clothing buyer. After I lost my job there I was hired by my cousin who owns a bail bonds company to be a BEA."

"BEA?"

"Sorry . A Bond Enforcement Agent. A bounty hunter."

"Ok."

"Then Ranger became my mentor, showing me the ropes. Later on after he decided I needed the help, he started lending me the use of the guys to help me apprehend my skips. And before I knew it I was working part time at Rangeman and then a while ago I started full time."

She turned to Evan, "Are you going to show her the lake?"

"In time Momma. Maybe tomorrow."

"The lake?" I asked puzzled.

"My favorite place. It's where I used to go to sit and think. Besides it has the best fishing around." He smiled at me.

"Well, Momma. I better get her upstairs. We're having dinner at Rita's."

"Go dear. Have fun."

"Yes Momma."

As we climbed the stairs, I asked Evan what Rita's was. "It's a little place in town I like to go to. It's not stuffy and it's got good food."

"Sounds good, because after all those photos I'm starved."

I changed out of my Rangeman uni and into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and my tennies. Evan changed into jeans, a painted on t-shirt and put his boots back on. "Hey Angel. Did you bring a light jacket?"

"All I have is my jacket from think It will be ok?"

"Yeah, it just gets chilly here at night, even in August."

We headed downstairs and out the door to one of the smaller barns. Evan held my hand, leading the way. He pulled the rolling door aside, and inside was an exact replica of his truck in Trenton. "I should have known."

"I like what I like." He stated simply. He helped me into the truck and then swung himself into the driver's seat. "You ready? It's about a thirty minute ride into town."

We backed out of the barn, leaving the door wide open and pulled out onto the road leading to the front gate. We drove in silence for what seemed like forever before I started spotting homes and barns along the highway leading into town. Powderville, Montana was not what I expected. We pulled into town and I was shocked. There was a grocery store, a church, Freddie's mercantile, a feed store, a bank, a gas station, the combined high school and middle school, the elementary school and Rita's. That was it for downtown.

"Wow. It's uh..."

"I know it's not like Trenton, but it's good for out here."

"It's cute. I bet gossip gets around here faster than in the Berg."

"You have no idea." He chuckled. "Let's go into Rita's, I'm hungry."

We dismounted from the truck and walked over to the restaurant. He opened the door for me and we walked inside. The place was packed. Everyone turned and shouted at the sight of Evan. "Mack!" I looked at him smiling. He smiled and proceeded to greet everyone in the place like family. After a few minutes, he yelled, "Hey, quiet down!"

And everyone quieted, looking at the great hulking man standing beside me. "Everyone this is Steph my girlfiend. She's the one I told you about. She's Bomber!" And then the room erupted. I was hugged and kissed and hugged some more by so many people I lost track. All I could do was smile and greet people.

Finally we were seated at a table in the back, Evan and I shared a bench seat across from two other people. The guy stuck his hand out shaking mine. "Hi, I'm Deeter. I'm Mack's best friend."

The woman grabbed my hand holding it fast. "I'm Sissy. I'm Deeter's wife. It's so nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you." I said, but frowned. "Who's Mack?"

They started dying laughing, before Deeter decided to tell me. "Mack is Evan. That's his nick name from high school. Because in football he could hit like a Mack truck. Around here once you pick up a nick name it sticks with you for the rest of your life."

"I know how that is. I got the name Bomber or Bombshell."

Evan lowered his mouth to my ear and whispered, "I like Angel better." I blushed and ordered burgers, fries and beers and chatted with Deeter and Sissy well into the night.

We loaded up into Evan's truck a little before midnight and headed back to the ranch. I tried desperately to stay awake on the ride back but lost the fight soon after we left town.

_I was dreaming of a little baby girl, curly bonde hair, chubby cheeks and bright green eyes. She was cooing and smiling, her little fists pumping about in happiness. I handed her off to Evan, watching him hug and rock her about. The look of love and adoration for this little girl made my heart sing. I felt a tugging on my sleeve to see a little boy perhaps three years old. His hair was a sandy blonde, blue eyes and chubby cheeks. "Momma, I want a hug." I bend down wrapping him in my arms bringing him face to face with me. I kissed him on the cheek, hugging him tightly. "I love you Bubba." "I love you too Momma." _I smiled in my sleep. _Then I noticed there was another man watching us. It was Carlos. He waved and the little boy ran to him, "Uncle Carlos!" He scooped him up in a big hug, and carried him to us. Evan hugged me with his free hand, and whispered into my ear, "I love you." Then, my 'boys' from Rangeman bagan to appear one by one surrounding us. After we all were present the little boy hugged 'Uncle Carlos' and said, "Look Momma, we have a big family. I love all my uncles." I wiped a tear away from my cheek, "Yes, Bubba. I love them too."_

I was jarred awake from my dream when we hit a large pothole in the road. Evan patted my knee. "Angel. Why don't you slide over to the center? It's where all the women around here sit when they ride with their man." I smiled sleepily and unbuckled my belt. Sliding over I snuggled against Evan. "You have to put your seatbelt back on though." I found the seatbelt for the center and fastened it tightly. His placed huge muscled arm over my shoulders and we drove the remaining fifteen minutes with his arm over me and me snuggled into him. "You know... tomorrow is the bonfire and dance."

"For the reunion?"

"Yeah. It's tradition. Bonfire and dance on friday, reunion on saturday, church on sunday morning, and a picnic sunday afternoon down at the Kessler's ranch."

"Sounds like fun. Anything I should know before we jump into the whole reunion thing?"

"Not really. You already met most of my classmates tonight. Thursday night we all usually meet at Rita's anyway. So one thing down, a couple left to go."

"How many people did you graduate with?"

"Twenty two."

"Twenty two! That's it?"

"Small town."

"Oh. I forgot. Sorry."

"How many did you graduate with?"

I winced, "One hundred and eighty nine."

"That's almost the whole population of Powderville. Damn. How did you know everybody?"

"I didn't. I did flag squad and I was on a lot of the dance committies, but I hung out with pretty much the same people all the time. Eddie, Big Dog, and Shirley, and Mary Lou. They were my close friends."

"Deeter, Crash and Freddie, are my buddies."

"Crash?" I snickered. "You have a friend named Crash?"

"Yup. He got it when he crashed his motorcycle into the side of the church. It was so funny, he got laid up for a week. Never lived that one down." He laughed. "Hey, I wouldn't talk if I were you. You have a friend named 'Mooner'."

"Yeah, yeah I do." I sighed, thinking about my goofy friend. "Hey, do you think we could go shopping at some point tomorrow for a bikini?"

"You bet. Only if you model it for me."

"Done."

"Also, I want to get you a pair of boots. I want to take you riding. It'll be fun."

"Riding? Like as in a horse?" Uh oh. I don't think I like the sound of that.

"Yup. It's the only way to get to the lake unless you want to hike for a couple of hours each direction?"

"Nope. Riding is good." I fiddled with my finger. I let a moment pass before I asked, "Are you going to teach me?"

"You've never ridden a horse before?"

"No." I stated quietly staring out the window. He pulled over and used his finger to turn my face to him.

"Angel. I will teach you. I love you and would never put you in position to hurt or embarass you. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you."

"Good." He smiled and lowered his lips to mine. Our tongues dueled and our mouths sought each other. Until, we heard a rapping on the window. Evan lifted his head and looked down out the window. "Damn!" He powered the window down.

"Well, I'll be! If it isn't Ramsey's middle son." A hand was thrust up into the open window. Evan shook hands with whoever it was attatched to. "Back for the reunion I see."

"Yes, sir. I was just on my way back to Pop's ranch. I had to show my girlfriend Rita's place."

"You got a girl up in there?"

"Yes, sir. Stephanie... there's someone I'd like you to meet."

I unbuckled my belt to lean over Evan's lap to meet the person who belonged to the hand from earlier. I was greeted with a charming smile and dashing good looks. There standing before me was a man of about 40, 6'1", black shaggy hair and brown eyes wearing a Sheriff's deputy uniform. "Stephanie Plum I would like you to meet Deputy Bear Smoltz. Bear this is Stephanie." I leaned out a bit further shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"Ma'am. Mack, you know I can't have you parked along the side of the highway."

"Sorry, sir. I'm headed home now."

"Do that. Say 'hi' to your Momma for me. It was nice to meet you Ms. Plum."

"Yes, sir. Good night." When he powered the window back up and had pulled back onto the highway, I started to giggle. Evan chuckled and sheepishly admitted, "I've never been caught necking before."

"Never?"

"Nope. I really only had one girlfriend in high school and back then it wasn't an option."

"Really? I got caught before. Nathan Baglowski's dad caught us in the parking lot after Winter Ball my Junior year. The car wouldn't start and so he called his dad to come get us. But I guess we found a way to stay busy until he got there. I was mortified. My mom grounded me for three months for that." I shook my head.

Evan was laughing. "I like necking with you. It feels right."

I kissed his chest. "I like it too. Just think, when we're married it won't matter what anyone else thinks. We'll be married." It felt so right talking about being married to Evan. I couldn't imagine my life any differently now.

"I'd like to get married in Trenton, but have a small ceremony here as well."

"I do too. I like it here. Do you think you would want to move back here at some point?"

"Maybe to retire, it's not someplace you come to live unless you ranch or farm."

"It's so nice and open. I can see why you love it here."

"I love being anywhere, so long as you're there Angel."

"Awww... a big softy. I love you too Baby."

**A/N: Please R&R.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I'm just playing with them for a while. I do not earn anything from these works.**

**Chapter 11**

The next morning we woke in each other's arms. Evan had made love to me after we returned back to the house last night. I was laying there stretching when he leaned over to kiss me. "Good Morning Angel."

"Good Morning Baby."

"Ready to get up?"

"Yeah, I better hop to. It's almost 0500."

"Angel. You're on vacation."

"I know but if I slack off, I'll never hear the end of it from Ranger."

"Want to run with me then? We can get breakfast when we get back."

"Sounds good."

I dressed in a pair of plack shorts, black t-shirt and my socks and tennies. "Angel. We're not at Rangeman, you don';t have to wear black all the time."

"I know it's just easiest. You ready?" I asked pulling my hair back into a ponytail.

"Let's stretch outside, then hit the road. It's three miles to the front gate." We snuck our way downstairs and out the front door. We were suprised to find Justin already outside stretching. "Hey, J. You running too?"

"Yeah, to the front gate and back. You?"

"Yup. Join us." he nodded and allowed us to stretch. We started out at leisurely pace and when I couldn't stand it anymore, I took off hitting my stride. I left them in the dust, humming to myself. When saw the front gate, I tapped it and headed back where I came from. About a quarter of the way back I passed both Evan and Justin, I smiled and waved. When I got back to the house, I turned back around and ran back to meet them. I found them about halfway, resting. I slowed and breathed in the cool air, while keeping track of my heartrate. "Damn Angel. When did you start liking running?" He huffed out.

In between heavy breaths I answered, "Since when did you get so slow? Usually you leave me in the dust. Come on, I'm hungry let's get you two back to the house." I turned and took off, leaving them grumbling.

I was already out of the shower and laying out my clothes for the day when Evan walked, well, dragged his ass into the room. He flopped down onto the floor and groaned. "I knew racing Justin was a bad idea."

"What was that Baby?" I asked innocently while dressing into jeans and a t-shirt.

"I said, I knew racing Justin was a bad idea. He kicked my ass. We raced the rest of the way back and I nearly keeled over when I hit the barns."

"Baby, just relax and take a shower. I'll meet you downstairs." I watched as he dragged himself into the shower. I retieved my ring from my cargo pants pocket, and put it into my jean pocket. Walking down the stairs I was drawn by the smell of fresh brewed coffee.

"Good Morning Darlin'."

"Morning Momma. Evan is in the shower and should be down soon." I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down to Momma handing me a plate of eggs, bacon, sausage and toast. I began to eat with gusto, my run had depleated my reserves and I was needing to replace it. When I was nearly done, Evan appeared freshly showered and feeling much better than earlier. "Hi Baby. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. I forget I'm getting older." Momma handed him a plate filled twice as much as mine was and placed a cup of coffee on the table for him. He inhaled his food in no time and had refilled his coffee twice. "Momma your cooking always makes me feel better." He laughed. "Angel you ready to head to town?" He turned to his mother. "She needs a few things and I want to take her riding later, so she'll need boots."

"Freddie just got a new shipment in. She better get down there before Brittany buys them all up." Evan sighed. "Yes, Evan. She's been back in town for a few months. You knew you were going to have to deal with her at some point in time. Better now, since Steph can help put her in her place." Momma turned to me. "Evan's old high school sweetheart, Brittany Stevens. She has done nothing but stir up trouble and cause Evan heartache. She's a devil in disguise. She's real nice to your face and then when you're not looking she stabs you right in the back. Unfortunately for Evan it was in his heart." He groaned and placed his head on the table.

"Momma. I'm over her. I've been over her for years! My heart only belongs to one woman now." Momma smiled at me. I looked at Evan and he winked. While he was telling her about us dating, I pulled the ring out of my pocket and placed it on my finger. I nonchelantly reached for my coffee cup when I heard a blood curdling scream come from Momma. She was standing dead still when Pop, Justin and Junior came bursting in throught the back door.

"MOMMA! Are you ok?" She shook her head and began to weep pulling Evan and I into a giant hug. She was blubbering and hugging us at the same time. They stood there looking at each other scratching their heads trying to figure out why Momma had screamed and was crying. She finally grabbed my hand and held it up. My ring caught the light and I heard a gasp. "Well, I'll be damned!" Pop spit out. "Evan done got engaged!" Both Junior and Justin snuck out the back door and closed it behind them leaving Pop and Momma alone with the two of us. Pop came over and gave Evan a huge man-hug. Momma just kept hugging me and crying. Finally she calmed down enough to kiss my cheek before she started up again. Pop disentangled me from Momma and gave me a huge hug. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when my little Evan would find himself a girl to marry." Evan groaned and shook his head in his hands.

"Momma, Pop. We want to get married in Trenton first, then we want a ceremony here in Powderville. We want ties to both New Jersey and here. It's what we both want."

Momma stopped cold and started to laugh. She was doubled over and almost choking when Evan finally got her to calm down. "Momma are you okay?"

_Snicker,snicker!_ "Do you..." _snicker_ "know what this is going to do..._"snicker_ "to Brittany? I have to get my camera! I need to get this on film!"

"Evan. Is Brittany really this bad?"

"Think Joyce but worse."

"SHIT!"

Pop stopped to look at me and burst out laughing. "She said shit!"

We managed to make our way out of the house without any more tears from Momma. Evan and I snuck out to the barn and climbed onto the tailgate of the truck. Leaning into him I sighed and closed my eyes. "Are you okay Angel?"

"Yeah. I'm just glad that's over with. I really like your mother but she's something else."

"I told you she'd go nuts." I nodded, my eyes opened to see a chicken run across the yard. We sat there staring out across the yard for almost and hour, just the two of us. Evan was drawing lazy circles on my back with his fingers, while I was rubbing my hand over his knee. "I think I better tell you about Brittany."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She's going to make life difficult while we're here, I so better give you the low down on her so you're prepared."

"Okay. Shoot."

He drew a long and slow breath, before begining. "We grew up together, and really didn't like to be around each other until high school. She was Miss Popular, and because I was the Captain of the football team, it was just implied that we should be together. I asked her out on a date our sophomore year and we were inseperable. And it wasn't like she really loved me, she was only worried about her image. The football games, classes, dances and hanging out. They were all a show for her. She only wanted someone to maintain her image until she could get out of this town. She would tell me she loved me only to put me down and nitpick me in front of my family and friends. She never let me do anything to show affection, she never even let me kiss her."

At this point I noticed defeat creeping into his facial expression. "I fell in love with her. My senior year I was offered a full ride sholarship to Notre Dame, but because I wanted Brittany to be happy I turned it down and went to work at the feed store to earn money for us to leave town. She waited until the night before graduation to break up with me. She had been taking a night class at the junior college and had started dating a professor. She told me that I had been nothing but a pain in the ass and that I deserved this little podunk town."

I was seething. How dare she treat him like that. "Then all hell broke loose. She left town right after the graduation, and married the professor. She sent me a letter a few months later listing the things she wanted back from me. A few days later she came back to visit her parents, and she called me up. She told me she did love me and that she only did that to make me jealous. She tried to get me to sleep with her, and I backed away, FAST! She threw things at me and proceeded to tell everyone that I was trying to push myself on her. She even went so far as to try to press charges. But at the last second she backed out, confessing to her mom what really happened. She was pregnant, her husband had left her for another girl, and she was looking for someone to care for her. She went back to her house in Bozeman and tried to make a go of it alone. Because of that, I needed to get out of here, there were too many bad memories. So I joined the Army, and I was out of here in two weeks. A day after her divorce was final she married a guy who was either too dumb or too blind to care that she was already 6 months pregnant. She bled him dry and then divorced him. As far as I know she recently divorced number five. She was living in a huge house in Helena and shipped her kid off to boarding school in New York. She sold it four months ago and bought herself a small spread just outside of town."

I had dismounted from the tailgate and was pacing back and forth. "Since she's head of the reunion committee, she sent me a letter at Rangeman a few months ago. She wrote that she still loved me and wanted me back. I never wrote her back. But according to what Justin has told me, she's been telling everyone around town that I'm coming back for her. And she's not going to let anything stop her from having me."

"Is she MENTAL?" I yelled. "She must really be some piece of work."

"Angel. She means nothing to me anymore. She's just a bad memory. I love you and I always will."

"I know Evan." I huffed out, kicking a rock about with my toe. "I just want to strangle this woman and I haven't even met her yet. Does she know you're here yet?"

"By now the whole town knows. And she's plotting, she knows about you. So, please be careful, she will be really nice to your face and then push you off a cliff if you prevent her from getting what she wants."

"Two can play this game. I am going to put Brittany in her place just like I put Joyce. There's only one way to deal with people like them, beat them at their own game."

"Angel, just remember, no collateral damage."

"Well, just be careful." He sighed. "You ready to head to town? I think you need to get a bikini." He waggled his eyebrows, "And I'm ready to see you in it."

"Horn Dog!"

"Damn skippy!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns her characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while. The charcters you don't recognize are mine. I gain nothing from this work, it's purely for fun.**

**Chapter 12**

We walked into Freddie's Mercantile and Evan shook hands with the owner. We asked about swimwear and he pointed us in the direction of the back. We wound our way through stacks of old clothing, tin pails, and apple peelers to the very back wall. We found the rack containing maybe fifty different styles and sizes of bikinis. I picked out three pairs before I tried them on. The first was a pink gingham trimmed in eyelet lace, I stepped out and Evan's eye almost bugged out. His lopsided smile warmed me from my head to my toes. I smiled, knowing that he was trying very hard not to pull me into the changing room and make love to me. I slipped back into the dressing room and changed into the second bikini. A purple and green striped string bikini, it wasn't very comforable, but I wanted to look smoking hot. I walked out of the dressing room to find Evan backed into the corner with a petite blonde holding onto a fistful of his shirt trying to talk to him. He looked at me desperate for help and mouthed the name 'Brittany' to me.

I crossed my arms and put on my best berg glare. "Excuse me? Why do you have your hands all over my man?" She turned on her heels to look me in the eyes.

"So you're the hot shot she-male bounty hunter that's stolen MY man."

I growled and she stepped into my personal space, "Bitch, back the fuck off!"

"Mack, I can't believe you would want to be with this foul mouthed cow." She called over her shoulder to Evan.

I came unglued and channeled my inner Lula, "That's it! You are a whore! You are a serial divorcee', you can't keep a man happy so they stray on you, you have had too much botox, and not enough tummy tucks. You need to wax your lip and get your teeth fixed, because honey you're a mess."

Brittany backed up, before she wagged her boney finger in my face. "You are a homewrecker, and you need to learn to be a woman again. Hanging around nothing but men has made you into one!"

"You better watch what you say about any employee of Rangeman LLC. Defamation of character is something we take seriously. The last jackass that tried to do that ended up without a penny. SO, Bitch, watch it." I stepped up right into her face, flashing my ring in the light. "So, if he's yours then why did WE just tell his parents WE are getting married? And why did WE tell my parents WE are getting married? Just for shits and giggles? I don't think so. You better back off Bitch, he is ALL mine."

I turned and started to walk back to the dressing room, when I heard Evan shout "Six o clock!", I saw stars before I was knocked forwards onto my knees. My shoulder and head felt like they were on fire. Evan shouted for Freddie, as I stood up. I touched my shoulder, bringing my hand around I saw it covered in blood. I turned around to find Brittany holding a shovel in her hands. "Did you just hit me with that?" I pointed to the shovel. She stammered and tried to back up. I was mad as hell, "Bitch this is going to be the single worst day of your life." I yelled to Evan who had gone to the front of the store for backup, "Evan she hit me with the shovel. She tried to kill me!" Her eyes grew wide with fear. She tried to back away but managed to corner herself against pallets of canned goods. I moved on instinct, sweeping her feet out from under her. She fell onto her back dropping the shovel and I pounced. I brought my fist back and hit her square in the face, ONCE! Her nose began to spurt blood. She started to cry for her 'mommy' and I couldn't hit her again. It felt wrong. She had been disarmed and disabled. She was no longer a threat.

I stood up and walked to the front of the store where Freddie, Evan and Deputy Smoltz were. "She's on the floor disarmed and disabled. I'm pressing charges against her for assault and battery. And I'd like to call my company lawyer about a defamation of character lawsuit." Smoltz cuffed Brittany and sat her in the back of his cruiser. I had been looked at by the local doctor and patched up.

A large crowd had gathered outside the store watching the aftermath of the whole situation. Evan was holding my hand, beaming. He couldn't stop smiling. He leaned in and whispered to me, "Nice job Angel. I loved the whole disarmed and disabled bit. Very Ranger-like. The only thing is there was collateral damage." He pointed to the bikini I was wearing. "Guess I owe Freddie for that one."

"You'll owe me nothing Mack!" Freddie was smiling and kissed me on the cheek. "I've been waiting for someone like you to come and teach her a lesson, Ms. Plum. It was awesome. I'm pretty sure I caught everything with the security cameras."

"Please call me Steph." I stopped and put two and two together. "Are you the Freddie, Evan was talking about from high school?"

"The very same one. I hope you won't hold that against me."

"Never. Anyone who can hang with my big guy, is good in my books." Thinking about what had happened, I asked Freddie sweetly, "May I have a copy of the footage? The guys at home would love to see it."

"Of course my dear. Let me burn you a copy real quick before Smoltz takes the disk. Excuse me." He hurried to the back room to burn me a copy. Smoltz entered the store and headed over to me.

"I assume you are ready to take my statement now Deputy?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

I recounted the events as best I could, including the hurtful things we had said to each other. He thanked me and as we finished Freddie came out and handed a disk to Smoltz. "It has the whole incident on it. I just watched it and Steph clearly was attacked and was defending herself. I hope this helps."

"Thanks Freddie." Smoltz walked out to his cruiser, turned off his emergency lights and headed to the county jail.

Freddie handed the other disk to Evan, smiling. "I burned two extra disks. One for you and one for me. I can't wait to show it to Rita later. She's going to die laughing."

"Just make sure you wait until we leave town before you show the rest of the town."

"No problem Mack."

Feeling guilty for ruining his floor, I walked over to Freddie and asked him for a bucket. He went over to the stack of buckets and handed me one. I stalked to the back room filled the bucket with water and disinfectant and grabbed a sponge off the rack. Kneeling down on all fours, I proceeded to scrub the floor clean. A moment later both Evan and Freddie were next to me on all fours helping. We finished in silence. I stood grabed the bucket, walked to the front door and dumped the bucket's contents into the gutter. I returned inside grabbed my purse and pulled out $40 handing it to Freddie. "Freddie, this is for the bucket, the disinfectant, the sponge and the bikini. Please don't say no, I want to make this right with you. Please."

He opened his mouth to protest, but decided just to hug me. He finally spoke, his voice a little broken with emotion. "Thank you Steph. You didn't have to do that, but thank you. Evan is lucky to have a girl as strong and beautiful as you. You are a true lady."

I hugged him back and told him, "Thanks Freddie. Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure Sweety. What do you need?"

"Riding boots in a size six."

"I got just the thing!"

We left town thiry mintues later toting a bag with the bloody bikini and my old tennies. Choosing the perfect pair of boots is like choosing the perfect pair of FMP's. They have to speak to me, and these one's said HELLO! They were sooooo cute! Lace-up Justin Ropers in distressed leather. They looked so hot with my jeans, I couldn't help but wear them out of the store.

"Angel?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay? Are you mad at me?"

"Why would you say that?"

"You clammed up. When you are really quiet, you either are pissed beyond all reason or you're scared. Right now... I'm hoping for scared."

"Evan." I sighed. "I'm not scared and I'm not mad. Not at you anyway. I can't believe that Bitch hit me with the damn shovel. What was she thinking? She's lucky you guys taught me restraint. I could have literally killed her. I thought about it for a second, but when I heard her call for her mommy, I stopped. I was done. I couldn't hit her anymore, it would have been overkill. Ranger always taught me to disarm and disable the attacker. That's what I did."

"I'm proud of you." He stated quietly.

"Thanks." I nodded. Smiling I looked sideways at him. "I wonder if the surveilance shows your reaction to Brittany?"

His head jerked up, turnig to look me in the eyes. "You wouldn't dare?"

"Wouldn't I?" I laughed wickedly. "I will never get the look of your terrified face out of my head."

"I'm a dead man. If Ranger sees that a 5'1" petite blonde chick backed me into a corner, I'll be called to the mats."

"Not if I show him what I did first, Baby. I protected my partner. He won't care about your reaction."

"I wish I could believe you Angel. I really do." He sighed. Thinking about what he had planned for later, He decided to ask, "Are you sure you're up for this ride?"

"Yup. My head doesn't even hurt and my shoulder is only a little sore. I've been hurt worse. The doc said I didn't get hit on my head directly so I won't have a concussion. I don't want to miss anything here. I love you and I want to experience your home."

"I think we better ride tandem today just to be safe. Besides, I'm going to like having your ass grinding into my crotch the whole way." My shoulders shook as I laughed, making me wince with pain from the eight stitches in my back. "And I'll be sue to bring some ibuprofen."

Pulling up to the house, Momma and Pop were waiting for us on the porch. "Darlin! Are you ok?" She raced over and turned me to see the bandage. "I knew she was the devil!"

"Momma, she's okay. She only got eight stitches."

"Eight! Good grief." She looked to Pop. "She acts as if it's nothing!"

"Momma. It's okay. I've been hurt a lot worse. It's just a couple of stitches. I'll be fine."

"Evan, you make sure you take care of her. You hear me?"

"Yes Momma." Evan nodded and hugged me close. "We're still heading out to the lake for a while before we go to the bonfire. Can you pack us a basket?"

Momma nodded and Pop placed his hand on her shoulder. She leaned into him and sighed. Watching Evan and I walk into the house, Pop smiled and told Momma, "I knew that boy picked a winner. She's got spunk!"

Half an hour later, Evan led me down the front steps of the house and out to the horse barn. He saddled a beautiful bay mare and led her out of the barn. He tied her to the mirror of one of the farm trucks and returned to the barn. He outfitted a mule with a cross pack, lashing extra blankets and the food basket to it. Leading the mule out to the bay mare, he explained how I was supposed to mount. "Angel, what I want you to do is place your left foot into the stirup, grab the saddlehorn and hoist yourself up. When you get about halfway up I want you to lift your right leg up and over the back and seat yourself into the saddle. Last I want you to place your right foot into the other stirup. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure."

Evan led the horse next to a hay bale so I had less of a difference between my foot and the stirup. I stood there, a little intimidated. But I 'manned up' and did as he asked, seating myself into the saddle. Before I could ask him what was next he had swung himself up, and seated himself behind me. He tied the reins for the mule to a ring on the saddle and with his hands holding the reins we were ready. He gently kicked the horse in the sides and we were off. I loved the feeling of the horse under me and Evan behind me. It didn't take long for me to relax and melt into him. He kicked the horse again and we were headed out over the hills at a trot. I loved seeing the ranch, it was so new and beautiful. "Baby?"

"Are you okay Angel?"

"Yeah. How long has this ranch been in your family?"

"We've been in Montana since 1879. My ancestors were farmers and dairymen. They didn't come alone, they brought their wives and families with them. They had met and married them back east before heading out west. I have ancestors from England, Norway, Germany and Sweden. Momma says that's where we get our good looks from." I smiled and nodded, I could see that. "This ranch was purchased and first homesteaded in 1881. We have added to it over the years buying up available adjacent land since then. Right now it's slightly over 5,000 acres. We raise beef cattle primarily. But we cut and bale our own hay for winter, selling the surplus to the feed store. We grow two types of wheat for our own use, plus oats for the livestock. My Momma raises fruits and vegetables in her garden for our own table, what we can't eat fresh, she cans for winter. Plus we have half a dozen dairy cows, chickens, ducks, geese, and a couple of hogs. We try to be as self sufficient as possible out here."

"My god! Do you ever rest?"

"We still find time to have fun. Guess what?"

"We're here." I looked around to find a scerene little lake surrounded by trees. An area nearest to us was shallow and looked like it was perfect for wading. A grassy area off to the right was sunny and was infused with wildflowers. Evan dismounted first untying the mule from the saddle and hitched it to a tree next to us. Evan helped me down from the bay, my body slid down his front to front. With one hand holding the reind for the bay, he wrapped the other around me before kissing me senseless. He pulled back when the bay jerked her head pulling his arm. He gently laughed, "Guess she wants to graze."

He pulled two long cables attatched to big stakes out of the mule's pack along with a hammer. He pounded the two stakes about thirty feet apart and clipped one cable to the bay and one to the mule. It permitted them to graze in the area the cable allowed access to, without them wandering away. Evan took my hand in his and led me to the meadow. He spread out one blanket and sat the basket down and rolled the other blankets into pillows. He laid me down next to him and let the sounds of nature speak. I heard birds chirping back and forth in the tree tops, a squirrell chattered at us from a lower branch of a nearby tree. The lazy hum of a bumble bee mingled with the chirping of multiple grasshoppers. I closed my eyes and enjoyed nature's symphony.

"Evan?"

"Make love to me."

"Angel. I'd make love to you anywhere."

Evan rolled over onto his side facing me. He lowered his lips brushing them against mine. I wound my hands behind his head and drew him closer. When I parted my lips to draw in a breath, his tongue plunged into my mouth seeking it's mate. I touched mine to his and the battle ensued. Soon we were clawing at each other desperate to remove all barriers between us, namely our clothing. He pulled his shirt over his head, I licked at the sheen of sweat on his chest. His sharp inhale made me smile, as I captured a nipple in my mouth. I sucked on it, garnering a groan from deep in his throat. I licked and nipped at it and then the other. His head rolled back while he enjoyed the sensations from my mouth. I then tugged at his belt and then his jeans. He shed them after pulling off his boots and socks, laying out in all his glory. I gently pulled my shirt over my head and shimmied out of my boots and jeans. I lay there clad only in my bra and thong. He rolled me onto me back gently and licked one of my nipples through my bra. I moaned, my eye closed at the feeling of his tongue grazing my lace clad nipple. He slid his one hand behind me unhooking my bra, with his other he tugged the bra off. He lowered his head to kiss between my breasts. The skin under his lips felt like it was on fire. He teased my nipples into tight buds, kneeding my breasts with his hands and nibbling at my neck with his teeth.

Evan worked his kisses downward, stopping at my midsection. His tongue flicked out dipping into my bellybutton, I inhaled sharply. "Evan, Baby!" His fingertips tugged at the top of my thong, pulling it down my body and eventually off. His kissed dropped down to the top of one thigh and then the other. He blew a warm stream of air over the trimmed thatch of curls at the junction of my thighs. He moved his head between my thighs, his kisses started on my inner right thigh and trailed up to nearly the top. He moved back down and kissed his way back up my left thigh, stopping momentarily near the top. He then used his fingers to part my lips, his tongue flicked upwards over my clit a wave of pleasure washed over me. "Oh, yes." I hissed. He raised his eyes to look at him as he lowered his tongue again, this time flicking it downward. My back arched in response, a throaty groan was my only verbal response. He smiled, licked his lips and then proceeded to suck, nibble and lick me into a frenzy. My insides were liquid fire. I wanted to cum. I nedded to cum. I writhed in pleasure, panting, begging him for release. "Evan, Please. Please!" He ever so slightly laughed. He pulled his head back for a moment, licked his index finger before resuming his nibbling. I felt him slide his finger deep into my wet center, and begin to move it in a come here motion. I bucked wildly, nearly screaming with need. "Baby! God! Baby!" I moved closer and closer to an orgasm. After he inserted a second finger, I lost it. I fell over the edge and screamed in exstacy. I clawed at the blanket as wave after wave of pleasure washed over me, I could feel myself contracting around his fingers drawing them deeper.

He rose onto his knees and forearms, his rock hard shaft waited at the entrance to my now dripping center. He kissed me deeply as he slid into my hot core. He groaned, "God Angel. You're so tight! I want you to cum with me. Cum with me Angel." He began slow deliberate long strokes, I clawed at his back, loving the feel of his skin under my hands. His face waffled between a contorted grimmace as he slowly thrust in savoring the feeling of how tight I was, to a relaxed clam as he pulled out enjoying the feeling of me contracting trying to keep his shaft deep within me. He thrust in and out of me as our tongues dueled, fueling our passion. I could feel the fires of another orgasm burning, getting more intense. His breathing increased, coming in shallow ragged breathes. His thrusts became more and more frantic, as I moved beneath him matching our rhythms. He started to shake with need, and I begged for him to fill me, "Evan I want you to cum in me. I want to feel you spilling in me. BABY... PLEASE!"

As I shouted 'please' I felt him tighten and as he thrust hard cumming I fell over the edge having the most intense orgasm I have ever experienced. I screamed a gutteral sound then saw stars and black dots dance before my eyes. He screamed my name with each of his contractions, "ANGEL! ANGEL! OH GOD ANGEL!" I drew in deep breaths trying to prevent from passing out, as I heard him do the same. He collapsed on me covering me with his rock hard body. We lay there in each other's arms for over an hour before we were able to move once again.

"Baby?"

"Hmmm?" He answered nearly asleep.

"When did you want to get married?"

"What's your favorite time of year?"

"Halloween, but I love Christmas too."

"How about Christmas time? We could get married before or after Christmas. How does that sound?"

"I like it. It gives me enough time to get things in order, but not enough time to overthink things."

"I think it will work."

"Baby?"

"Yes, Angel?"

"You know I can't get married in the church, right?"

"No, why?"

"My marriage to Dickie was in the church. I never had it annulled."

"Do you want to wait to have it annulled so we can get married in the church?"

"What do you want?"

"I want to be married to you, no matter who officiates or where. I love you and it doesn't matter to me."

"What about your parents? Will they mind?"

"They won't mind Angel. They love you, just like I do."

I turned over and kissed him. "Then Christmastime it is. And I think I may have to call on some favors to get the hall and ceremony sites. I love you Evan."

"I love you Stephanie." He rubbed his nose on mine eskimo style. "Now let's eat. I'm starved." He pulled his jeans over his hips, buttoning them. I had just pulled my shirt and jeans on when we heard a horse coming up the trail to the lake. I quickly pulled my wild hair back into a ponytail and stood looking to see who was approaching. Evan was ready, sidearm in hand placing himself between the visitors and myself. He visibly relaxed when he realised that it was a loose horse his Pop had lost the year before. Evan explained it had escaped during a particularly bad thunderstorm last July. It had been so frightened it had kicked throught it's stall in the barn and made a run for it. We ate as we watched the escapee visit with the bay and the mule. We talked about what it would be like for us to move back to the ranch. What would be expected from both of us. We talked about what it would mean for us to stay at Rangeman. What we could expect, and what we could bank on.

Before long it was time to head back to the house to get ready for the bonfire. We picked up, repacked the mule and pulled up the picket lines. The whole time we worked, the escapee watched us from a safe distance. We mounted the bay, leading the mule and headed back to the house. After a good half hour I nudged Evan and tilted my head in the direction behind us. The escapee was following us. He seemed like he missed the company of other horses, and his need for comfort over rode his wild nature. He eventually followed us to the house. We rode the bay into the barn and through to a corral. Once inside Evan dismounted and climbed over the fence. The escapee slowly made his way into the corral, and at the moment he passed the gate entrance Evan slammed the gate shut.

I leaned over and grabbed the fence letting the bay move away, leaving me clinging to the fence. I climbed to the top and sat watching the escapee nuzzle the bay. It slowly lifted his head and looked at me. I was mesmerized. Slowly step by step, it walked over to me. And before too long it was nuzzling the hand that hung by my side. I slowly raised it scrathing him on his forelock, then over his ears, and then down his neck. I slid down off of the fence and stood next to him. He visibly relaxed knowing I was no threat. I continued working my way down and around the horse, slowing when I felt him tense and only advancing when he felt comfortable again.

"Well, I'll be. She's a horse whisperer too!" I heard Pop say in a low voice. I looked up to see the entire Ramsey family watching me and the escapee. Momma was stunned, Jr. and Justin were shaking their heads in disbelief, and Evan was standing there beaming. Pop placed his hand of Evan's shoulder and murmered something into his ear. Evan just smiled even wider and hugged his dad. I felt like what I was doing was right. Like I was meant to be right here, right now, touching this horse, bonding with it. I remembered I had a peppermint candy from Rita's in my pocket. I pulled it out, unwrapped it and held my hand out palm up fingers curled back as far as they would go. The soft velvety lips of the escapee fumbled for a moment before they found the candy. He munched happily on the sweet treat before nuzzling into my chest with it's head. I walked over to the bay and pulled her to the gate, I handed the reins to Justin as Jr. opened it only enough for her to pass. Then we did the same for the mule. I never left the corral, and the escapee never spooked or became agressive. He was simply happy to be home where he could be care for and loved.

I finally climbed back over the fence and made my way back to Evan. I wrapped my arms around him and sighed. "What a beautiful animal. He seemed so lonely out there today. I think he forgot what it was like to be loved and cared for."

"I think he found a kidred spirit today." Pop stated staring at the escapee.

"Really? Who?" I asked.

"You Steph. You." Pop answered touseling my hair before he walked back into the barn.

"Me?"

Evan whispered in my ear, "Angel. You were the same way when we decided we should be together. Lonely, you missed being cared for and loved. And I knew what you needed. Guess that makes me an Angel Whisperer." I giggled hugging him tighter. He was right, you know. I was lonely, I did miss being loved and cared for. And Evan knew exactly what I needed. I'm like the escapee, I needed time to heal first now I can spend the rest of my life being loved and cared for by someone who truely loves me. "You want to know a secret?"

"What?"

"Pop says he's giving him to you as a wedding present."

I jumped into Evan's arms. "REALLY?"

"Yup. He'll be all yours. He still has his stall here in the barn. Pop never had the heart to give it to another horse. He'll care for him when we're in Trenton, but he's all yours when we come back."

Admiring the escapee, I casually asked, "What is his name?"

"Pop called him Devil. But his full registered AQHA name is Devil's Southern Comfort. But you can call him what you want."

"Comfort." I nodded. "I'll call him Comfort. It fits." I walked back over to the corral and Comfort walked to me. I pulled a halter off the fence post and put it on Comfort. He allowed me to place a lead on him, then I opened the gate and led him to his old stall. After releasing him inside, I scratched behind his ear and whispered into his, "Comfort you are my kindred spirit." I rolled his door closed and leaned into Evan. As Evan and I walked out of the barn together I heard Comfort whinny in agreement.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, any that you don't immediately recognize are mine. I do not profit from any of my works.**

**Chapter 13**

"Is this cute enough?"

Evan turned from the bed to see me twirl around. "Angel. It makes me want to..." His eyes darkened, a mischevious smile crept across his face.

"Easy there Tiger!"

"What? I was going to say kiss you. Yeah, kiss you."

"Whatever!" I giggled, moving my way over to him. I melted into the hug his arms offered.

"Angel? What did I do to deserve you?"

"You loved me from day one. You waited for me. And for that you should have been given a medal."

"Purple Heart is more like it."

"Hey!" I stared at him trying not to smile. "You got shot all on your own. I wasn't a part of it. If anyone should be getting one it should be me. Damn near getting killed because of your psycho ex-girlfriend."

"True. Brittany is psycho."

"See?"

He grabbed my hand and slowly turned me around once again to view my outfit. "Damn Angel. It's going to be hard not to touch you tonight." I lowered my eyelids, looked up at him and in a husky voice, "Who says you have to?"

He growled, and hugged me tight. In a strangled voice, "Angel. What I want to do to you, is not for public viewing." I blushed and smiled to myself.

I straightened my shirt and finished lacing up my boots. I decided to wear the white eyelet sleeveless top I bought with Evan and the guys, a pair of distressed boot cut jeans, and my new boots. I spent an extra hour moussing, teasing, curling and spraying my hair. Thankfully, it decided to cooperate tonight and fall into gorgeous waves falling over my forehead and down my back. I went with light make up, although an extra layer of mascara and and extra swipe of lipstick was in order. Momma made sure to rebandage my stitches so it wouldn't bleed through onto my new shirt.

It was still warm enough outside that I draped my jacket over my arm when we left. We headed for the high school football stadium where the bonfire was to be held. Evan parked the truck in the parking lot and helped me down. We walked hand in hand towards the backside of the home side seats. I could hear the snapping and popping of the frie before we saw it. About forty peolpe milled around a giant fire pit about 15 feet across. A pile of logs and brush had been positioned inside the fire pit and were crackling away throwing a good amount of heat to the surrounding area. I set my jacket down on a bench and walked closer to the fire, absorbing the warmth it gave off. I saw Sissy recognise me and make her way over to me, waving hi.

"Steph! I'm glad you made it. After what happened this morning I was afraid you weren't going to make it. Are you feeling okay Honey?"

"Thanks Sissy. I feel okay. I'm a little sore, but it's nothing. I only got eight stitches and some bruises. I've had worse."

"Eight stitches! Good Lord girl, you're gonna put Mack in an early grave."

"I doubt that. He's had worse than me. I mean I've been shot a couple of different times, but nothing really bad. Evan got shot in the back, and we didn't know if he was going to make it."

Sissy, touched my arm full of concern. "Honey! What happened?"

"He and four of our other guys got the drop on a skip that was trying to make it to his personal jet. He had a couple of goons hidden behind the cover Evan and the guys were using, when the goons came out firing. Evan stepped in front of the other guys giving them time to make it to better cover. In the process his caught three bullets in the back. I made it to the hospital just before they took him into surgery. It was a nine hour surgery and they weren't too sure if he was going to make it. I sat by his side for days. Our company medic had to tranqualize me to get me to leave him."

"They drugged you? Weren't you mad?"

"Yeah, I was mad as hell. I couldn't leave Evan like that. He needed to know I was there for him." I blushed a little before explaining. "In our company we have a high rate of injury usually requiring hospital visits and more often than not hospital stays. I 'm the one who stays with the injured guy or guys, I owe it to them for all the help they give me. It's become a running joke at the hospital that I am married to all the guys, because when the nurse or doctor asks for the next of kin I usually tell them I'm the wife. It just felt like it was the right thing to do. Most of the guys are like Evan, far from their families. Some have no family at all, so now I'm their family. I fill out paperwork when our medic isn't available, and I act as a go between for the injured guy and his family, relaying messages and information."

"So what happened after you were drugged?"

"Well, I woke up and booked it back to the hospital. Three days later he finally woke up. We almost lost him two times, had to shock his heart. I kept screaming at him for him not to leave me. After he woke up he told me he could hear me and decided that he better wake up. That was last year. It took until March of this year to get him back into his normal job."

"My goodness! And you say you've been shot?"

"Yeah. One in the butt cheek, and three seperate times in this shoulder," pointing to the scars along my right shoulder, "and I've been grazed too many times to count." I lifted my hair a little and showed her the gouge near my hairline where my latest one had been.

She smiled and laughed, "Is it safe to be around you?" By this time we had almost everyone listening to me.

"Not if you know what's good for you." I doubled over with laughter. Sissy giggled. "Too bad Brittany found that out the hard way."

"OH MY GOD! It was so damn funny watching her being led out to Smoltz's car handcuffed and all bloody like that. It was great!"

"Well, it wasn't great for her."

"What did she say to you?"

"What called me a homewrecker and she said I was a she-male. But what the worst thing was when she called me a foul mouthed cow!"

Sissy gasped. "She didn't!" I nodded seriously. "What did you do after she hit you with the shovel?"

"I got up from the ground and asked her if she really hit me. I think she was shocked I actually stood up like I wasn't hurt at all. I think _that_, right there, scared the crap out of her. I then backed her ass up against some canned goods and swept her feet out from underneath her and jumped on her."

"Damn, remind me not to piss you off." Sissy smiled and looked quite eager to hear the rest. "Then what?"

"I punched her square in the face. Once. She cried for her mommy and I got up and walked away."

"That's it?"

"Well, she bled like a stuck pig." I had everyone rolling with laughter. Evan was beaming.

He shouted to the crowd. "She's been trained to fight and defend herself by some of the best Navy Seals, Army Ranger's and Delta Force. She can fire a weapon better than any woman I know, plus she out ran me this morning." They all laughed and some patted Evan on the back. "But I wanted you all to know..." He grabbed me up into a hug, "We're getting married this December!"

I thought I died and went to heaven. I was swamped by the women oogling my ring and asking me questions about the wedding, while Evan was hoisted up and carried off to who knows where. A while later, Evan came stumbling up to me evidently drunk as a skunk. "Hi. Angel." He smiled while he wobbled.

"Evan are you okay?"

He looked at me and hiccuped. "Nope." He smiled a goofy grin. "Had myself a bit of Deeter's homebrew."

"I can smell that." I wrinkled my nose. "Think you can sober up enough to eat a little? I think it was Hank Baker that brought some different desserts for people to try. Wanna a cookie?"

"I want your cookie." He laughed and tugged at one of my curls.

"Baby. I'll get you some coffee too." I retreived two cookies and asked Hank for a cup of coffee for Evan. He came back to me carrying the biggest plastic mug I have ever seen filled to the brim with steaming hot coffee. "Thanks Hank." I carefully balanced the cookies and coffee making my way back to Evan.

I placed the cookies on the bench, and he took the mug of coffee and drained it in one long stretch. He handed it back to me and asked me for a second one. I walked back over to Hank who had two more mugs sitting waiting for me. "What the hell?" I stammered.

Hank just laughed, "Honey, Mack usually takes four or five to come back from Deeter's homebrew. Once he finishes these I'll have two more waiting for you."

"He sure does things his own way doesn't he? Deeter's brew must be some foul stuff."

"Honey you have no idea."

I picked up the two mugs and brought them back to Evan. I noticed the cookies were gone as he took the mugs draining them both. Before he could ask for another, I told him, "I'll be right back Hank has another two mugs waiting for you." I saw him smile and handed me the empty mugs. Finally when he had finished his fifth ginormous mug of coffee, and I had returned them to Hank, he looked like he was feeling better. "Baby?"

"Hmm?"

"No more of Deeter's homebrew. Okay?"

"Yes Angel."

"Now get your ass up. I want to dance." Evan stood up and led me close to the fire. He wrapped his massive arms around me and pulled me close. "Mmmm... I love being in your arms." I sighed, contented.

"I like holding you too Angel. It's my second favorite thing to do with you." He waggled his eyebrows. We slow danced to a few songs before my favorite club song came on. I grabbed Evan's arm and dragged him to an open spot. He knew what I wanted. "Lets show them what we do at the clubs at home Angel." We began to move and gyrate to the music, Evan behind me grinding into my ass. His hands were raised above his head pumping up and down while I was bent over slightly bouncing and grinding to the music. Someone in the crowd yelled, "Jersey style!" and they all joined in.

The bonfire had burned down to nothing but coals when we found ourselves surrounding the fire pit roasting marshmallows. A lone voice rose above all the rest, "MACK TRUCK!"

Evan jumped to his feet and hollared, "CRASH BANDICOOT!" A short compact man with black hair came through the circle of people to embrace Evan in a man-hug. He stood about 5'10", muscular as all hell, sparkling blue eyes and dimples to match. Evan was talking a mile a minute with him, and he turned to make the introductions. "Crash, this is Stephanie. Angel, this is Crash."

"Nice to finally meet you. But please call me Steph."

"Only if you call me Jake. I hate it when they call me Crash." He winked.

We talked about their high school life while we toasted and ate the marshmallows. I learned that Jake had been caught trying to steal a rival high school's mascot costume, he managed to extracate himself from punishment because he knew that the cop who caught him was growing weed. So they both walked away clean and clear. Jake laughed and wiped the tears from his eyes. When Evan, Crash, Deeter and Freddie were seniors they climbed to the top of the school and had pelted the freshman with water balloons filled with pigs blood. That was until the Principal Mr. Harlock walked out into the quad. Evan held the last balloon and had lobbed it at him, hitting him directly dead center in his chest. I thought to myself, '_even then, he hit what he aimed for. Guess I can see why his instructors trained him to be a sniper.'_

Deeter, Sissy and Freddie found us a little while later. Freddie had to stay and close his store, before he could join us. They brought their old football jerseys, reminding both Crash and Evan to retrieve theirs. Evan ran back to the truck, and returned carrying his. Crash came back wearing his like Baby Huey. It was a snug around his muscled chest and arms. I looked to Evan who shook his head. "Angel. I grew another three inches in height and I have packed another fifty pounds of muscle on since I last wore this. It won't fit." He smiled and tugged the jersey over my head. The long blue jersey with gold numbers fit like a dress, hanging to my knees. PHS was emblazened across the chest, with the number 54. A fist sized letter 'C' was sewn onto the right shoulder. "There! I always wanted my girl to wear my jersey in school. I never had someone who wanted to wear it before. I like how it looks on you."

"I love it, Baby. I never dated a football player before. I only wore my friend's jersey's when they didn't have a girlfriend at the time. Needless to say, I wore Big Dog and Eddie's jersey's A LOT!" He chuckled. Soon the time came to put out the fire and head home. Apparently it was tradition to sing the school's fight song when they put out the bonfire. I felt the vibration from Evan's chest on my back as he held me in his arms singing while standing behind me. He rested his chin on the top of my head after they had finished singing. People began to filter out of the area heading to their homes for the night. The six of us headed out to our vehicles. Sissy and I jumped up onto the tailgate of Evan's truck as the guys leaned against the the fender chatting. Freddie was telling Crash about my fight with Brittany that morning. Deeter and Sissy both nodded when he told him that I only needed to hit her once.

"Steph, you only hit her once? I would have beat the shit out of her."

"Jake. Not everything is solved with someone ending up half dead. She was a threat. I disarmed and disabled the threat. Simple as that. I could have punched her in the throat crushing her windpipe, or I could have punched her nose in a way to send bone splinters into her brain, or I could have given her a roundhouse to the side of her head effectively knocking her ass out. But I didn't. I just neutralized the threat that she posed to me." I was looking at my hands, while I fiddled with my fingers. Everyone stood there staring at me in pure and utter amazment. They couldn't believe I was so quiet and relaxed talking about killing or horribly maiming another human being.

Jake shook his head, "Damn Steph. Where the hell did you learn to do stuff like that?"

"Evan, my boss Ranger and the boys at Rangeman. They're the one's that trained me. They're afraid I'll get myself into a situation where they can't extracate me before something happens. Unfortunately they're used to rescuing me. They're all former military. Seals, Delta Force and Ranger's." I smiled, "The Ranger's are my favorite."

I heard Evan's forceful, "Hoo-Rah Ranger's!"

I giggled, kissed him on the lips and returned his, "Hoo-Rah!"

**A/N: I always wanted to kick someone's butt like Steph does. My muse thought we should try it first hand, but I sucessfully talked her out of it. Thankfully! Please R&R. -Tiff**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Janet E. owns her character's, I own the one's you didn't recognize right off the bat. I do not profit from my works.**

**Chapter 14**

After Sissy and I hugged goodbye, we parted ways knowing we'd see each other tomorrow night. As Freddie and Evan were doing some complicated handhake, I tried to climb into the truck by myself. I managed to fall flat on my ass, when strong hands helped me up. Jake chuckled, "Mack was right, you do manage to get yourself into a bit of trouble."

I brushed myself off, and smiled sheepishly at him. "Yeah, I do that a lot." Leaning up against the truck I looked at him.

"You seem to manage though."

"You have no idea. I've been kidnapped, shot, beaten, trapped in a coffin, drugged and had more cars blown up and crushed than you can shake a stick at. Usually Ranger and the guys come to my rescue."

"Got the whole damsel in distress thing down, huh?"

"Yup. Evan is my knight in shining armor." I smiled, watching Evan waltz up to us.

"Mi'Lady."

"Sir Ramsey." I giggled.

"Mack. How the hell do you stay sane with all the trouble she gets herself into?"

"I don't. I just try to get to her before something bad happens."

"Bad? You consider kidnapping, getting shot, and cars blowing up good things."

"Could be worse. She could still be dating Ranger." Evan looked at me winking.

"Your boss?"

I winced. I really didn't like many people here knowing about Ranger and I. It was old news. Evan was engaged to me now. He was my future. "They parted friends." Evan explained. "If it weren't for him, I never would have met my Angel." He leaned down to kiss me.

"Amen to that." I smiled at Evan and then to Jake.

With Evan's help I loaded up into the truck and watched as Jake and Evan gave each other a man-hug. I gave him a little finger wave as we pulled away. Evan quieted and looked sideways at me. "I think you better know now. Jake has always been a player. I love him like a brother, but he's got issues. I know he's got at least three kids by three different women. And I'm pretty sure he's the father of my cousin's son. She never said who the father was, but I'm pretty sure."

I shook my head in disgust. "Why would he do that?"

"It's just the way he is. All the girls around here learned fast not to stay on his radar for too long. So he started dating girls from out of town."

"Well, just so he know's we're together."

"Angel." We drove the rest of the way to the house in silence.

The next morning we were eating breakfast with Momma and Pop when Justin and Junior came in from feeding the livestock. Justin sat across from me and Junior at the end of the table to my left. Momma placed plates of food in front of them and they began to inhale. "So, Darlin' what do you plan on doing today?"

"I don't know Momma? I would ask Justin to take me on a tour of the ranch but I know he has to help Pop and the boys vaccinate the heifers. Maybe I'll hang out and work with Comfort for a while."

"Comfort?"

"You know... Devil the escapee horse."

"Oh, Darlin', I didn't know you had renamed him. If that's what you want to do." Momma brightened, "Evan dear."

"Yes Momma?"

"I almost forgot to tell you. The boys will be here to help you today."

"You must have told them you'd bake your apple pies."

"And my cherry pies."

"Suckers!"

"Evan Michael! Ramsey! How can you talk like that about your friends? They are coming here to help your father... and YOU. The least you can do is be grateful."

He hung his head knowing if he went any farther he'd get his ears boxed. "Yes, Momma." I smiled, noting the way Momma winked at me. She had purposely shown me how to deal with Evan when in a difficult situation. Smart woman!

After finishing the breakfast dishes I headed upstairs to put my boots on. A knock on the door revealed Junior wringing his hands waiting to talk to me. "Junior? What's the matter?"

"Can I talk to you Steph?"

"Sure come in."

He looked nervous, and unsure of what to say. "I need your advice... as a woman I mean."

"Okayyy..." I answered, unsure of what he was about to ask me.

"See, it's Macey. My fiancee. She is putting me through the wringer. I don't know what to do."

"Okay, Junior What happened?"

"She up and left me last night." His head dropped into his hands and he began to cry. I hurried and shut the door. I sat him down on the sofa and patted his back. His whole body shook as he was wracked with sobs. He crumpled, placing his head in my lap.

"Oh, Sweety." I didn't know what to say. I let him cry, and get his anguish out. "Junior what happened?"

"We had a fight about her going out at night. I suspected she'd been cheating on me." He wiped his tears with his sleeve. "She even came home one night and smelled like men's cologne. I called her on it and she said she had bumped into a guy at the bar. Then another night she came home without any panties on. I know she left with some on, I saw them. She said I was crazy and I must have been thinking about another night." He started to cry again.

"Junior. Let me guess. She got mad said you were crazy and she couldn't handle you acting all jealous and nutso. Right?" He nodded. "She packed her things and threw it into her car. But the things she packed were the expensive and costly things right?" He nodded again. "She left most of the clothes, most of the shoes, the heirlooms, and the pictures. But she took the car, the expensive shoes, the expensive clothes, all her make up, all her hair stuff and the ring right?"

He sniffled. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Because I watched half of the girls in the Berg do that to their husbands, boyfriends or fiancee's. It's what they do when they get caught cheating. They throw it all back on the man."

"But why?"

"So she doesn't feel guilty for hurting you. She's trying to place the blame on you. In her mind she's trying to tell herself that you are the problem. When it really is her."

"She's cheating for sure?"

"Not sure. But if you love her and you are willing to forgive her, talk to her. If you're not ready to forgive or forget, than you need to move on." I smoothed the hair out of his eyes. "Junior, I'm telling you this from experience, love is a hard thing to get right. You have to work at it. You BOTH have to work at it. If someone fails to put in the effort, it starts to fall apart. One person can not do it alone."

"So what do I do?"

"Talk to her. Let her know how you stand." I kissed his cheek. "You have to decide if you want her or not."

He sat up and hugged me, "Thanks Steph. I didn't know who to talk to. Momma would have gone after her with the shotgun. And I can't talk to my brothers, they don't know about stuff like this."

"Junior. Evan would understand. After what Brittany put him through, he would understand."

"Thanks Steph. I'm glad you're a part of this family now. I'm glad Evan got his head out of his ass and finally caught you. You're the perfect match for him. I love you Steph."

"I love you too Junior." I hugged him again, just as Evan walked into the room.

"Hi." He said, slowly looking from Junior to me. "Everything okay?" I shook my head, no.

"Can I tell him Junior?" I turned to look at him.

"Okay." His shoulders slumped again and he leaned back in the sofa resting his head on the back, eyes closed.

"Baby. Macey left Junior last night. He suspected she cheated and called her on it. And she moved out on him."

"I'm sorry, man. Is there anything I can do?"

"Nope. I gotta go talk to her myself." He turned his head to look at Evan in the eyes. "Don't you dare mess up with Steph. We'll keep her and kick you out of the family. Got it?"

Evan laughed but knew Junior was dead serious. "Yeah, man. I got it."

Junior hustled out of the room leaving us to contemplate the situation for ourselves. "Guess, it didn't take him very long to warm up to you."

"Nope. All of a day and a half. Why?"

"He doesn't like new people. But I think he knows you're a really nice girl." Evan smiled and drew me into a hug. "I know I think you're a nice girl. The kind you bring home to Momma." He laughed softly.

"So, are you going to head out to the far pasture yet?"

"Not until the guys get here. Should be anytime. The sensor for the front gate went off a few minutes ago."

"Okay. I guess I'll see you around lunch time." I bent to pick up my boots.

"Angel?"

"Hmm?" I looked up to see him partially out the door, head poking into the room.

"I love you."

"I love you too Baby." I felt all warm and fuzzy. Every time he told me he loved me it only reenforced the fact that we had come a long way. We started out as strangers, then aquaintances, the co-workers, then friends and now lovers. I was left pondering our future as he went to greet his friends.

Most of the morning I spent brushing and combing Comfort. He seemed to really enjoy the feeling and I didn't have the heart to stop. I ran my hands around him, feeling for any sore spots or injuries. I noticed that his hooves were seriously overgrown and needed tending. I decided to ask Pop to call a ferrier for Comfort. But before I did I noticed a wonderful aroma coming from the house. I followed my nose and found myself in the kitchen watching Momma pull two pies out of the oven. The sound of my inhale made her smile. "Darlin' if you want a piece of pie all you have to do is ask."

"I don't want to be a pest."

"Nonsense Darlin'. I always make an extra pie or two. I'm suprised Evan never told you about my pies. They're legendary around these parts."

"No. But I'm willing to taste test to find out for myself."

"Cut youself a slice of cherry from the pie safe." She pointed to a cabinet alongside the massive wall of windows. I pulled open the door to find a cherry pie sitting on the top shelf. I cut two slices and set them on the table with two cups of coffee. I sat down waiting for Momma to finish putting the pies on the cooling racks. She sat in her chair handing me a fork. She dug into her slice and I followed suit. When I tasted the wonderful magic she called cherry pie, I moaned and my eyes rolled into my head.

"Momma! That is so heavenly!" I smiled at her, "You should think about selling these. You'd make a fortune."

"Why thank you Darlin'. I used to work at a bakery in a town about an hour from here. Pop came in one day after he had gone to buy some parts for his truck. We fell in love and got married less than a month later. We then had our three little ones and the rest is history." She sipped her coffee. "I know you had a rocky road to get to my Evan. He always called me everytime you got hurt. He felt like it was his fault, that he couldn't protect you. He has loved you for so long I think I've thought of you as part of our family for many years. I can see you love him too."

"You know it's funny Momma. When I thought about all the times he came to my rescue, and the times we spent hanging out as friends, I never really knew how he felt about me. I liked doing surveilance with him because we would talk about life, our dreams, our hopes. I remember a night when we were sitting outside of a factory waiting on a skip to surface, and I asked him what he wanted most in life." I paused and started to tear up. I shook my head to stop my tears, and choked out, "He... he told me the one thing he wanted most in life was to marry me and have a family.' I allowed the tears to fall, "I remember laughing and telling him he was a smartass. But I remember the look of sadness in his eyes when I said it. Had I known he loved me all these years I could have spared him the pain of that comment."

I took a big gulp of my coffee. "I never was good at relationships. I had the worst kind with Morelli. On again, off again. We never really saw eye to eye, and he tried to change me. He wanted me to be the stay at home Berg wife, taking care of the kids, the dog and the house. He wanted me to give up being a BEA and give up Rangeman. I couldn't do that. I loved the guys too much to do that, and I didn't love Joe enough to give them up. I know that all the guys at Rangeman love me in their own way. Ranger let me love him but he couldn't let himself love me the way he wanted to. But Evan, I always knew he was special. I would catch him looking at me and I would get a warm fuzzy feeling, and when we would work together I would be on top of the world. And the times when he got hurt, were the worst. I nearly lost it a few times. Lester still teases me about how I flipped out more about Evan getting hurt than I did for Ranger. And it's true." I shook my head."Why did it take my mind years to figure out that I love Evan, when my heart knew the first time we met?"

"Darlin'." Momma patted my hand and stroked my hair. "The heart wants what it wants, whether our brain understands it at the time or not."

"Momma, I love Evan with all my heart. I'm just sad that it took me this long to figure it out."

"We can all thank God you did figure it out. Especially Evan."

"Momma, before Evan, I couldn't see myself ever having a family. But two nights ago, I had a dream." I told her about the dream I had about the baby and the little boy. I told her about 'Uncle Carlos' and the guys. Finally I told her about what the little boy said about having a big happy family. She smiled and tears rolled down her face.

"Before Turk and I got married, I had a dream, too. I dreamt that I had three beautiful boys standing next to the two of us." She wiped the tears away. "In my family, when you dream of such things, we think of it as God's way of telling us that he is blessing the union and it's his way of giving us a glimpse of our future."

"Oh, Momma. I want a family with Evan. I am ready to be the mother of his children." I smiled.

"You are ready Darlin'. And so is Evan."

"Well," She said, pushing herself up from her chair. "Do you want to help me put lunch together for the men? We can take it out to them around 1330."

"Oh, no. Not you too?" We started to make sandwiches, and salads.

"Well, when you have three boys who enlist, it becomes part of your life."

"Three? Junior was in the military too?" I added fresh fruit to the basket.

"Yes. He did his own thing. He went into the Marines. When Evan and Justin get mad at him they call him a Jarhead. But he did real well, made the rank of Sergeant before he was given an honorable medical discharge. He was shot by a sniper in his right leg outside of Falujah, Iraq. It shattered his femur, it had to be surgically repaired, he has a titanium rod relacing most of his right femur. It was very hard for him, but he did his rehab and worked exceptionally hard at hiding the fact he was injured in the first place."

"I had no idea. I'm usually really good at picking up on some type of an injury, even an old one. I didn't notice even the slightest limp."

"He doesn't see himself as injured. He sees himself as healed and ready to move on with life."

I smiled and helped Momma grab four of the pies. We tied bandanas around to protect them and tucked them into a cardboard box. Momma handed me a knife and had me slice a dozen and a half lemons putting them into a large berverage crock. She added water, additional lemon juice and sugar syrup. When we finished, we gathered up the basket, the box and the beverage crock and headed for Momma's truck. We loaded up and headed out through the pastures to a field far from the house.

We pulled up and parked near the other work trucks sitting at the edge of a large circular pen full of black beef cattle. Momma and I left the truck and unloaded the food onto the dropped tailgate. Pop, three ranchhands and the boys were finishing up the last of the vaccinations as I watched as Evan turn and smile at me. He waved and made his way over to the side of the pen. I climbed up enough to lean over and kiss him. The sound of cat calls and smoochy sounds came from the direction of the guys. Evan rolled his eyes and kissed me again, pulling my head forward with a hand to the back of my neck. When we broke apart, I was blushing and he was beaming his crooked smile. Momma sighed and shook her head, "Evan. Get Pop and the rest. It's time for lunch."

I climbed back down off of the fence and headed back to the truck. Filling cups of lemonade, I watched the guys approach. They were dirty and dusty, but joking around. We sat anywhere we could find a comfortable spot to eat and dug in. Evan and I sat in the bed of Momma's truck back to back leaning against each other. We listened to Pop tell stories of when all the boys were kids. One in particular interested me the most. Pop recounted the story of how Evan, Crash, Freddie, Deeter and Justin were coming back from a football game when they encountered a woman lying in the middle of the highway just outside of town. They stopped to see if she was okay. When she came to she was screaming about her babies in the truck. Apparently the truck ran off the road down a steep embankment and she managed to crawl up to the road for help. Once the boys realized there were kids in the truck, Deeter stayed with the lady, Justin drove to the nearest phone to call for help, while the rest of the boys climbed down the hill to where the truck had come to rest against a patch of trees. They searched the area and finally found the kids. They found the kids all right. They were kids, as in baby goats. She had been headed back to her farm with ten newly purchased nubian goat kids, and went off the road. The boys rounded them up bringing them up to the road. The ambulance came and carted the lady off leaving the boys with the goats. Evan decided to drop them off at the local feed store to hold until she could collect them. After she was released from the hospital she paid a visit to the high school to personally thank the boys.

Pop smiled at the young men around him. "That was one of the proudest mement of my life. To see so many of our young men doing what was right. Makes a man proud to be a father." He angled his head towards Deeter, Freddie and Crash, "And I guess these boys too."

Deeter nodded, "You've always been a great role model Pop. Since my dad died you've stood in and helped me when I needed it. Thanks Pop." Pop smiled and nodded.

We finished our lunch and Momma brought out the pies. "Thank you!" Freddie yelled, and was first in line for a slice of Momma's apple pie. Twenty minutes later there was nothing left in the pie tins and the men looked a little stuffed.

Evan poked his belly and groaned, "I'm going to have to do extra mat time for the next month for all the food we've eaten here." He grimmaced.

"Could be worse."

"How?"

"I could tell Grandma you need a workout partner."

He looked horrified. "You wouldn't dare!" The men started to laugh.

"What's the matter Mack? Afraid of a little old woman?"

The look he gave them was typical Rangeman, dark and brooding. "You meet her and tell me you don't want to run for the hills. That woman has fingers as fast as lightning. She'll pinch your ass before you can blink." They started to roll with laughter. "And wait until she starts talking about your 'package'! Makes a grown man want to cry."

I was dying laughing, but nodding in agreement. Choking out the words, "She is the ONLY thing every man at Rangeman is afraid of. They literally run from her. She pinched Evan on the rear twice the night she met him. It was great!" I squeeked out, tears rolling down my face. "I can't wait for you all to meet her. She's a pip!"

The laughter finally died down and we cleaned up lunch. The men gathered up their supplies and loaded them into one of the farm trucks. Pop came over to Evan and placed his hand on his shoulder, "Evan. Are you going to take care of that job I asked of you?"

"Yes, sir. I brought my rifle. I'll take Angel with me. I should be done by 1630."

"You'd have just enough time to get back and clean up before you have to leave. Better get to it."

"Yes, sir."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I own the one's you don't recognize. I still don't profit from my works.**

**Chapter 15**

Evan and I drove out over the open range well beyond the sightline for the house. We stopped and Evan helped me down, he then unloaded his rifle case and a folding table. He set up the table, placed a couple of boxes of rounds, two pairs of shooting glasses and two sets of ear protection muffs onto the table. He grabbed the rifle case and gently opend it up. Inside lay his personalised rifle. Evan smiled lovingly running his hands over it. "Angel this is my baby. This is the rifle I used to learn how to shoot long distnces. I used to come out here and practice for hours when I was in high school." I smiled, knowing that Evan enjoyed spending quality time with his firearms.

"Today I'm going to show you how I did it. I'm hoping you can handle it, because I'd like to show you more when we get back home."

"What are you going to do?"

"Watch and see." He pulled the rifle out and double checked it to make sure it was in proper working order. He pulled it apart and reassembled it in no time flat. It shocked me how cool and efficient he could be when it came to firearms. He pulled out the bi-pod and a few sandbags from the truck. Setting them up he then loaded the rifle. I watched as he loaded round after round into it. I grabbed the eye and ear protection putting them on, knowing I would be reprimanded if I didn't. He searched the field, sweeping from side to side beofre sighing a target. His eye trained on the object through the scope, I noticed his eye wasn't on the scope itself but back about 5 inches.

"Baby why do you keep so far back from the scope?"

"So I don't get a shiner from the scope hitting me on the recoil."

"Oh, ok."

"Watch this Angel." I watched as Evan aimed for a spot far in the distance. A moment later a ground squirrell popped his head up and I head the deafening roar of the rifle discharging. Half a second later the ground squirrell was nothing but a puff of smoke and pink mist. Evan smiled and searched for another to target.

I felt queasy. I had just watched Evan snuff out a cute little squirrell. I yelled at him, "Why did you do that?"

He shook his head and removed his ear protection, with me following suit. "Angel. They are a pest out here. The cattle step into their holes and break their legs. Then they have to be put down, costing Pop a lot of money. They aren't even native to this area. Prairie dogs are native, ground squirrells aren't. The squirrell are pushing the prairie dogs out, they don't reproduce as fast so the sqirrells are just running them out with their sheer numbers. So we're doing the right thing by helping to put things back into balance. I don't like having to kill, but it is for the greater good."

"I feel like such an idiot. I should have known you would be doing this for a good reason."

"It's okay Angel. Want to try?"

"Sure." Evan set me up and soon I was glassing for a potential target. I soon found one far off the the left of the field. I dialed the sight in and aimed. I made sure to seat the rifle against my shoulder like Evan had taught me hundreds of times before, and slowly squeezed the trigger. I was knocked back about a foot before I watched a puff of smoke and pink mist rise from the ground. "I did it, I did it!" I jumped into Evans arms and hugged him.

"Damn Angel." Evan was shocked. He let me down and checked the distance with the scope. "You know, you should do this more ofter. You're a natural."

We spent the rest of the afternoon ridding the area of pests and working on my long range target shooting. Evan was a great teacher, and it was easy being a great student especially when I received a smoking hot kiss after every confirmed kill. In fact I was a _very_ good student, I had a lot of confirmed kills.

Back in Evan's room, we prepared for the night's festivities. We had both showered and dried off, and were in the process of dressing. Evan had chosen to wear his dark blue Armani suit. Momma had ironed his custom made white dress shirt. Due to the cicumfrences of his massive neck and chest, no ordinary shirt would fit. So he along with most of the guys at Rangeman had to have their dress clothing custom made. He looked good enough to eat. _YUM!_

"Yum, yourself Angel."

"Damn. I did it again didn't I?"

"Yes. I find it endearing. And way sexy."

"Horndog."

"Only for you Angel. Want some help with getting dressed?" I stood there dressed in nothing but one of his old button down shirts. I had just finished my makeup and my hair. I was going for the sultry look and had made my eyes smokey, my lashes extra dark, my lips pouty and my hair styled into perfect waves. I looked like I could have walked down the runway in New York or Paris or even Milan. Standing in front of Evan I slowly unbuttoned the shirt, letting it drop to the floor. I stood there in only a red lace thong, no bra needed tonight. He had forgottent that with the way my dress was cut, there was no way I could wear a bra underneath. He hardened in his pants, his eyes darkened to near black and his breath quickened. I slipped the dress over my head and adjusted it, not looking at him on purpose.

"Evan will you help me with my necklace?" He took the simple silver necklace I held out and slipped it around my neck. After closing the clasp he kissed the back of my neck, nipping at my sensitive skin. I leaned back into him and moaned. His one hand slipped into my dress and massaged my breast. He nibbled along the juncture of my neck and shoulder as his fingers rolled and gently pinched my nipple into a hard bud. My knees felt like jelly and I moaned again. A loud knock at the door interupted us. Evan and I were both breathing hard, "Damn. Never fails."

"It's alright Angel. We'll pick up right where we left off when we get back. I promise." As I checked my hair, Evan opened the door to Momma standing there holding a camera.

"All right you two, let's get some pictures. Oh, it feels like it's Senior Prom Night all over again, but with a much more beautiful woman this time around." Momma smiled and started to snap pictures. Twenty minutes later Pop finally dragged Momma away and told her to leave us in peace. Pop reappeared with a black battenberg lace shawl. "Steph, Momma thought you might need this, it's getting a mighty chilly outside for a dress like that."

"Thanks Pop." I gave him a soft hug, and he blushed. Turning to Evan, "You ready?"

"Let's hit the road."

We drove to the reunion listening to my favorite Metallica CD. I felt is was necessary to psych myself up a little, on the chance that Brittany had posted bail and would be there. I didn't want to ruin anyone's good time, least of all Evan's. But if I had to, I would defend myself. No questions asked. We pulled up to the school and Evan carefully lowered me to the ground. Crash, Deeter and Sissy were waiting at the steps for us. "Damn! Are all the chicks in Jersey as hot as you Steph?" Deeter asked, getting a punch in the arm from Sissy.

"Deeter, no one is as beautiful as Sissy right now." I smiled and winked at her. She linked her arm in mine and we headed into the school. We stopped at a table near the door to the gym and Evan greeted a man with another man-hug.

"Brian, how are you?"

"Good. You?"

"Couldn't be better man. Trenton's treating me real good." He turned and placed his hand on the small of my back. "Steph I want you to meet Brian Walker."

"Brian. This is my fiancee Stephanie Plum." He pumped my hand up and down furiously smiling.

"It is so good to meet you. We have heard so many good things about you over the years. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"Thanks." I blushed a bit. After chit chatting for a few minutes we headed into the gym. It was a typical gym, except for the fact it was decked out in blue and gold streamers and balloons. A banner over the stage read, 'PHS Class of 1996', hanging over an old projector screen. I surveyed the room. Tables were placed around the perimeter of the room, a large dancefloor set up in the middle. Tables of refreshments and a bar stood nearest the stage and a DJ had set up his gear stage left. A soft melody was playing over the speakers while groups of people were milling about chatting. We found our table and Evan left me to procure a couple of beers. Crash sat down next to me, watching the others around us. "You still live here in town?"

"Nope. I moved to Idaho a few years ago. I work as an IT guy for a hospital suppy company. It pays the bills, but I spend most of my off time riding my Harley."

"Sounds like fun. Rangeman has a Ducatti I ride a lot, when it's nice enough outside."

"Ducatti. Expensive."

I nodded. "Yeah, Ranger has a thing for expensive things." I giggled. "And he doesn't like to do things half-assed."

"Sounds like a hard boss."

"Kind of. But I love it. He always has the cool cars, the cool looks and the coolest guys working for him."

"And the hottest chick." I smiled at Evan as he put his two cents in.

We talked about Idaho and Trenton, and how life had been for the last 15 years for the guys. Freddie joined us not long after, and told us about life in town lately. Soon our table was full when Deeter and Sissy joined us. A slim woman walked on stage and tapped the microphone. "May I get you attention."

We all turned in our seats to listen in. "For those who don't know me, my name is Sally West. I was President of the senior class and I would like to welcome the Class of 1996 back to Powderville High School. We have all but two graduates back with us tonight. Denny and Lisa Loutner are at Grace hospital right now welcoming their newest addition, Mary Elizabeth Loutner. Born this morning at 7:30, nine pounds six ounces and 21 inches long." A picture of a happy couple holding a newborn flashed across the projection screen. A chorus of 'awe's' and clapping followed. "As you know, it has been fifteen year since we left these hallowed halls. And to experience our lives since then we have asked your families to provide pictures from not only your senior year in school, but pictures of your life since then." Sally nodded to someone in the back of the room. "Here it is the class of 1996 then and now."

We watched as a photo slide show was projected onto the screen. A montauge of senior photos came up. There were people who looked serious, people who looked bored, and people who looked like they were so happy. Then the pictures of the boys came up. Freddie looked uncomfortable, Crash looked like he were a million miles away, Deeter looked stoned, and then Evan's pic came up. He looked so damn handsome with his crooked grin plastered on his face. He looked so much younger, and not quite as muscled. But yummy all the same. The photots soon switched to more modern day. Someone standing in front of a university dressed in a cap and gown holding a diploma. A smiling young woman dressed in a polo shirt and shorts was standing holding three kids at a summer camp. Deeter holding Sissy hand as they got married. Crash sitting on his Harley with a dramatic backdrop of mountains behind him. Freddie waving from behind the counter at his store. Then the picture that took my breath away. Evan with a huge grin on his face was standing in his fatigues his rifle slung over his neck somewhere in the desert surrounded by Tank, Zero, Lester, Bobby, Hal, Cal and Ranger. I started to cry. Evan placed his arm over my shoulders and kissed my temple. "Angel. That was the last time we went into the wind about six months ago. I missed you so much." I nodded and wiped away my tears.

"Evan, I'll be right back. I need to check my makeup."

"Honey, I'll go with you." Sissy grabbed my hand and led us to the bathroom.

I dabbed my eyes with the tissue noticing Sissy watching me. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I just realize how much I love my boys."

"They are the hottest bunch of guys I've seen."

"You have no ides. They are so much hotter in person. Believe me, I tease my boss about only hiring the hottest guys around."

"I can see that."

"The more muscles the better. You should see when we all get into the gym at 0500 every morning."

"You get to see those guys in their gym clothes?"

"Better. Most of the time, they don't wear t-shirts. It's like OMG!"

Sissy fanned herself, "I think you are the luckiest girl in the world. You're marrying Mack, and you work with the hottest guys I've ever seen."

I shrugged, "It's a living." And I chuckled. As we turned to leave, a familiar voice came from one of the bathroom stalls.

"You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" I froze. I knew that voice. I slowly turned to see Brittany had exited the stall and was holding a small pistol at both Sissy and I.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at Brittany, as I looked at Sissy who was standing at my side. I slowly moved my hand out and moved Sissy behind me. "Brittany, it's over. You lost Evan a long time ago. You broke his heart and he moved on." I was slowly advancing on her.

She screeched, "Stop moving!" She stomped her foot, the sound echoing in the tile clad bathroom. "You ruined my last chance with Mack. I had this one last chance, and you ruined it for me. I had planned on getting him back months ago. But you... YOU!" She screeched again. "You come here all high and mighty, miss bounty hunter, and show me up in front of all my friends."

"Brittany..." I was pissed now. I kicked off my shoes and had taken up a defensive posture waiting on her next move. "You never had a chance. Evan loves me. He has for years. You are nothing but history." And with the last word I jumped forward and tried to kick the gun from her hand. She held on, but the gun went off, the bullet lodged itself in the ceiling. Sissy made a run for it as I squared off with psycho bitch from hell. Brittany crashed back into the wall, and my instincts kicked in. I punched her in the jaw, and kneed her in the gut. She gave a quiet little 'ompf' as the wind was knocked out of her. She raised her arm trying to shoot at me again before I gave her a mighty roundhouse knocking her to the ground. We wrestled with the gun, and she dropped it. It skittered across the floor to the door. She clawed and scratched at my face before I gave her a few more punches to the face. Wanting it to be over I gave her a hefty karate chop to her vagus nerve, she slumped to the floor unconscious.

I scrambled over to the gun and flicked on the safety. A few moments later Evan and half of the guys from the reunion burst into the bathroom to find me fixing my makeup and hair at the mirror, with Brittany bloody and unconscious but cuffed on the floor. I looked at Evan and pouted holding up one of my finger, "She made me break a nail." Evan couldn't stop laughing, even with Brittany coming to.

Two of guys walked over and pulled Brittany to her feet. She realized that there were people watching her. She screamed at them, "She attacked me. She tried to shoot me!"

I shook my head and retreived my purse. "Brittany I don't use a little peashooter like that." I pointed to her little pistol. "I use this." I pulled the Glock 19 out of my purse. "A real woman knows how to shoot. And I don't mean the ceiling." I pointed up. "Don't forget I wasn't the only one in here when you pulled your gun on me. Sissy was here too. You stupid cow!" I started to yell. "You belong in jail. I can't belive someone was stupid enough to bail your ass out the first time. Now you're not getting out. Attempted murder is a serious offense." I walked into Evans arms, and turned my head to look at Brittany once again. "Evan and I are getting married and there is nothing you can do to stop us."

She was yelling and screaming at the men who held her. She struggled out of their hands to come at me once again. Before anyone else could react, I swept her feet out from under her and placed my foot on her throat constricting her airway. She held still. I struggled to hold my temper, "Stay down. Or next time, I will not hesitate to take you down for good." The guys reappeared with Deputy Smoltz, he pulled her up off the floor and replaced his cuffs for mine. He handed Evan my cuffs.

"You never learn do you?" He said to Brittany. She clammed up and tried to look as indignant as possible. He turned to look me over. "You okay Steph?"

"Just peachy. I ruined the entire reunion."

"I'll come by the house tomorrow to get your statement." Smoltz nodded at Evan. "Mack."

"Bear." Evan shook his head at me. "Even this far from Trenton you still manage to find the crazies."

"Hey! She found me! And to get the story correct, you dated her! Not me. She's your crazy!"

We allowed another deputy to close off the bathroom to collect evidence. After putting my FMP's back on, we headed back to the gym. I expected for it to be empty, but I was wrong. It was as if nothing had happened. I heard a voice over the loudspeaker break my shock. "And here she is Trenton, New Jersey's own Bombshell Bounty Hunter! Stephanie Plum." I looked to Evan. He shrugged his shoulders and placed an arm around my middle. "And here's our very own Mack Ramsey!" He waved to the crowd. "Now, to hell with Brittany! Let's party!" The DJ pumped up the music and most people started dancing on the dance floor.

At some point that night, supper was served. Evan held me close for the rest of the night. I didn't want to be anywhere but in his arms anyway. We talked to nearly everyone and I finally relaxed and enjoyed myself. Close to 2200, Sally got everyone's attention over the loudspeaker. "I'd like to give out the awards now." She waited until everyone was seated. "The first award goes to the person who traveled the farthest. Brian Walker. Coming from all the way from Miami, Florida." Clapping erupted as Brian walked to the stage to receive a small toy replica of a plane. The awards continued for a while before she came to the final two award. "Now, I have two final awards. The first is for cutest couple. And the winners are Mack and Stephanie." Freddie clapped Evan on the shoulder and Sissy hugged me. We walked up the stage to receive a figurine of a little boy and girl kissing.

We tried to leave the stage before we were stopped by Sally. "And even though she's not really a graduate from PHS, Stephanie, we'd like to induct you into the class of PHS 1996." I smiled and waved to those out in the crowd. "So, now that you're now a member of PHS, you're elligible for the last award. For the best takedown of a world class bitch... Stephanie Plum." I stood stock still. My mouth must have dropped because Evan tipped my chin up with the side of his finger. Sally handed me a pair of boxing gloves, and I started to laugh so hard I hard tears streaming down my face. I tried to wipe away the mascara streaked tear tracks, before I heard Evan step up to the mike.

"Hey, everyone. We'd like to thank you all for inducting her into the class. Stephanie came from a graduating class of nearly 200 people, and she never really got the chance to know everyone in her class. It's great to know that now she can say she's from a graduating class where she knows every single one of you. I wanted to tell you thank you not only from her, but from me as well."

I stepped up next to him, "Thank you everyone. Hopefully I won't need these later." I waited for the laughter to die before I continued. "It's truely an honor to be part of PHS class of 1996. I will always think of this town as my home away from home. Thank you." Evan and I walked back to the table, to find our friends smiling from ear to ear.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while. I do not profit from my works.**

**Chapter 16**

We danced the night away, letting ourselves enjoy the music and friends. Dancing with so many people, it became apparent that I was well liked. Now, it being a small group of people, remembering names wasn't too much of a problem. It almost became a game to me trying to remember who was married to who. Evan helped me along the way, correcting me when needed. Evan was dancing with a short brunette, while I rested my tired feet sitting at the table. Rubbing my feet was starting to bring back the feeling, and I enjoyed watching Evan having fun with his friends. His head rocked back with laughter and soon was surrounded by four women. The thumping of the music was so loud I could feel it in my chest. I took a swig from my beer, feeling the cooling liquid sliding down my throat. A warm arm slid over my shoulders as Deeter sat in the chair beside me. A slow song started and with a little tugging on my arms he dragged me out onto the dance floor. His arms were hugging me and I hugged him back as we swayed to the music. I noticed Sissy had partnered up with Evan and I gave her a small finger wave. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at me laughing.

"Hey, Steph?" I could feel the rumble in Deeter's chest.

"Yeah?"

"Want me to give you the dirt on Mack?"

An evil grin spread across my face as I looked up at him. "I'm glad someone had the balls to finally give me the good stuff."

"Come on." I grabbed our beers as he pulled me out the doors to the parking lot. He opened the door to his truck and pulled out a big cardboard box."You have to promise not to tell him you know about any of this stuff."

"I promise. Is it that bad?"

"A lot of it is stuff he gave to me to get rid of after Brittany broke his heart."

"Oh. Do I really want to see it then?"

"Most of it, yeah. Some of it can get chucked into the trash." He started to sift through the box. He laughed and pulled out a dinged and dented crown. "Now, this... is something he's forgotten I'm sure."

"A crown? What was it for?"

"He was named Homecoming King our Senior year. Of course, you can guess who was queen. But he ruled the school. Mack the Truck! Man he was the shit back in the day. Every girl wanted him, and every guy wanted to be him."

"Funny thing that he tries to be the wallflower at Rangeman. He tries so hard not to be noticed."

"Here in powderville, he is king. He will always be the king. His brothers, Junior and Justin were the same way. Kings of Powderville." He smiled putting the crown aside. "And this..." He pulled out a football covered in signatures. "This was from the state championship game. We won, 47-13 against a school from Helena." He also pulled out a pennant and trophy. "He was named MVP of the game. He made six interceptions and scored twice. Plus he sacked the quarterback twice, putting his ass in the hospital. Mack was the king that night too."

I looked into the box and pulled out a bag of plastic army men. "Even when he was little, he dreamed of being in the Army." All the men were lying prone with an aimed sniper rifle.

"Figures he would have all snipers." Deeter laughed. He pulled one out, turning it in his fingers. "You know, he shot competitively in high school, right?"

"No, he didn't tell me."

"He did really well. Made the state team for three years running. He won quite a few competitions." Handing me a bunch of blue ribbons and a trophy, Deeter began to search the box again. I set them on the tailgate with the army men and the crown.

He pulled out a very think, well worn scrapbook. "Momma, cut out all the newspaper articles about him. She also saved ticket stubs, playbills, and lots of pictures." He opened up to the first page. The name Evan, was spelled out in different colored paper backed by blue and gold trim. The pages that followed were snapshots into Evan's life. A picture of the four guys standing on the steps of the high school dressed in their practice football uniforms. Evan holding a trophy after a shooting competition. A picture of Evan crammed into a standard desk in a classroom, head bent reading a math book. Evan lifted over the heads of the football team after a well fought game. Deeter riding on Evan's back during a rally, Crash along side riding on Freddie's back.

And then, the pages started to display a different chapter of Evan's life. Deeter tried to close the book, but I stopped him. "Deeter. I know you're trying to keep me from getting mad. But I know Brittany was a big part of his life. And if I'm going to understand more about Evan I need to know more about Brittany... well, the old Brittany."

"Are you sure, Steph? It only get worse from here."

"Yeah. I can handle it."

I turned the page to find a picture of Evan and Brittany sitting next to each other smiling. They were at Rita's hanging out. The next picture was of Evan dressed as a caveman, with Brittany standing next to him dressed as a cavewoman. His eyes were on her, while hers were on the camera. A playbill from the school musical, Pirates of Penzance, took the whole left page while pictures of pirate Evan dominated the right side. I chuckled, seeing how goofy he looked in ragged pants and bare chested under in an exceptionally tight leather vest brandishing a plastic sword. A picture of Freddie, Deeter and Evan dressed in their tuxedos was breath taking. They all were very handsome doing their best 007 pose. The next few pictures made me wince, it was the same pose just different angles. Brittany was standing a good two feet from Evan wearing her Homecoming Queen crown and holding flowers while he wore his crown and cape. She looked like she was on top of the world, he looked miserable. Lastly the final picture I looked at was of Evan giving the camera a forced smile while wearing his cap and gown at graduation accepting his diploma. It looked like he hadn't slept, and he looked like he was dying inside. It made me cry.

"Steph, I know you said you'd be okay, but are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's just that I can see the progression of his unhappiness the closer it got to graduation. I can see that he loved her by the way he looked at her. But to her, he was just a prop. It's sad."

"Yeah, the night before he left for the Army he came and gave me this box. Told me to get rid of it. But I couldn't. He's my best friend, and it was like I was saving a part of him. Do you understand what I'm saying? It was like he was throwing everything he had here in Powderville away when he left. And I couldn't let him do that. He's my blood brother and I couldn't let him leave like that. He was trying to erase his memories of home for the previous two years, and to tell you the truth, even with Brittany they were still the best two years of his life to that point."

"So, you just stashed this box away, waiting for a day like this?" He nodded. "I'm glad you did Deeter. It means a lot to me." I helped him place all of the items back into the box and he placed it back into the backseat of the truck. We sat on the tailgate drinking our beer staring up at the stars. "Damn. I never knew that there were this many stars in the sky. My usual nighttime sky in Trenton consisted of a somewhat purple background dotted with a few stars here and there. But here, It was an inky blackness completely covered in small dots of white, red and blue. It was overwhelming, to be able to see the clustering of the stars in a strip across the sky, simply known as the edge of the milky way. Deeter pointed out various constellations and planets.

"Hey Deeter? How'd you get your name?"

"Well, when I was small I couldn't say skeeter for mosquito, I could only say deeter, and it kinda stuck."

"If you don't mind what's your real name?"

"Gavin."

"Cool. I know a Gavin back home. Well, I really don't know him so much as I kicked his ass after he threw me into a pile of garbage before I caught him for skipping bail."

"You're a funny chick."

"Yup that's me, funny Steph." I looked out across the vast expanse of space. "Deeter, do you think..." I stopped not knowing how to word what I wanted to say.

"Think what?"

"Do you think I was too hard on Brittany the first time I met her?" I chewed my lower lip, thinking about the encounter.

"Nope." He anwered simply, chucking his now empty beer bottle into the bed of his truck. "You probably were too soft on her to tell you the truth. She was always pigheaded and stubborn. Never let much of anything stand in her way. She's been talking about getting Mack back for months now. Talking about how she was going to spend his huge paychecks from Rangeman, and how he was going to take her away from all of this." He swept his hand across the view of town and beyond. "She made herself a real mess one day whe she saw Momma at Freddie's. Brittany told Momma that when she and Pop got too old to care for themselves she was going to stick them in an old folks home and sell the ranch. Momma came unglued. Tried to strangle Brittany right then and there. But Pops held Momma back and told Brittany she'd get the ranch over his cold dead body."

"What is her problem? I mean really... sell the ranch? It's been in his family forever!" I fumed, glad I had kicked her ass.

"Worse still Momma and Pops never told Mack about what happened. He probably still doesn't know about it."

"Well, I'm sure as hell not going to be the one to tell him."

"Me neither." He bumped his shoulder into mine. "I think it's time to head home. It's already midnight and we have church in the morning."

"Yeah, this is going to be fun. Are you coming for mass or are you going to come just to watch the lightning strike me dead for beating Brittany's ass two days in a row?"

"Hmmm? Lightning? Might be fun to watch." He chuckled, "I'll send Mack out to meet you. Stay and enjoy the quiet."

"Thanks Deeter."

He walked back into the building humming along with the tune wafting from inside. I wandered over to Evan's truck and climbed inside, albeit with some difficulty. I sat in the driver's seat and marveled at the beauty of the machine. I leaned back into the seat inhaled the scent of his cologne, closed my eyes and enjoyed the quiet. A little while later Evan emerged from the school and proceeded to scan around for me. I flashed the headlights once letting him know I was in the truck. He climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. "Want to dive back to the ranch?"

Bursting with excitement I bounced in the seat. "Can I?" Evan nodded and handed me the keys. I scooted his seat up as far as I could to reach the pedals. Finally finding the perfect distance, I cranked over the engine. I think I just ruined a perfectly good paair of panties.

"Angel. I thiought they were ruined before we even left the house."

"Oh, God I said it outloud again didn't I?"

"Mmm hmm." He smiled, his eyes closed relaxed in the seat. "You remember the way?"

"I think so. You trust me?"

"Angel, I trust you with my life."

"Good because I'm gonna gun this sucker!" With that I think Evan crapped his pants. I stomped on the gas backing the truck out squeeling the tires. Turning the truck while backing threw him against the passenger door with a thud. I then threw it into gear and slammed on the gas screaming forward.

"HOLY SHIT ANGEL!" Evan was wide awake and holding on for dear life. the color of his white knuckles matched the full moon that hung in the sky. I shot down the highway at 120 mph, passing the occasional slow vehicle. We made it to the front gate for the ranch in less than ten minutes. Evan was sweating and gripping the 'Oh Shit' bar trying not to fall over. "Angel?" He asked quietly as I slowed down to 25 mph on the gravel drive.

"Hmm?"

"Please warn me next time before you drive like that." He patted my knee. "I've done a lot of crazy driving in my day, but that was crazy Angel. You'd give Woody and Tank a run for their money. Maybe you should ask them to show you some moves. Hell, you could show them a few."

I laughed and joked, "Baby. The only one I want showing me moves, is you." I stopped the truck only a quarter of the way to the house. I shut it off, unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to Evan.

Evan unbuckled his and reached for me pulling me onto his lap. Running my hands over his close cropped hair I stared into his captivating green eyes. "Baby. I don't know if I can wait until Christmas time."

He smiled and traced a finger down my jawline. "I know, me neither."

"Remember the time we were sitting outside that warehouse in Newark? And I asked you what the one thing you wanted from life was?"

"Yeah. To marry you and have a family." He smiled rubbing my back with his strong warm hands.

"Evan, I want to start a family with you. I want us to have a baby." I leaned into him feeling the muscles from his massive chest rise and fall with every breath he took. "I want us to have a life full of children and love. You deserve it... we deserve it."

He pulled me back from his chest to look into my teary blue eyes, "Angel, you've made me the happiest man on earth. You are marrying me. And when the time comes for us to have a family, we'll be ready. No matter the timing." He tangled his hands into my hair pulling my lips to his in a crushing kiss. My fingers went to his waistband undoing the button and zipper. His shirt was slightly unbuttoned from before we left the school, and I took full advantage. I kissed a trail from his lips down his throat to the juncture of his neck and shoulder. I bit into him hard leaving a mark, when I heard him groan it made a shiver run down my spine.

He worked a hand under my dress and in one quick move ripped my thong to shreds. His hard shaft twitched as it pressed against my thigh. I rose up slightly centered myself over him and plunged down, impaling myself onto him. He growled and grasped me in a crushing hug. I could feel him throbbing in my tight wet center, he waited for me to expand to fit him more comfortably. He started to bounce me with his face suckling a now exposed nipple. I threw my head back and moaned, tightening around him with every downward movement. Feeling myself come closer to an orgasm, I shifted my body around facing away from him. He tilted the seat back a bit more letting himself be ridden. He whispered to me in my ear, "Angel. I'm so close." Moans from my impending orgasm mixed with his, bringing me closer. Just as I fell over the edge I felt him shudder and grasp me in a tight embrace as his rock hard shaft pumped his seed into me. I could feel myself milking him with every contraction, pulling him deeper. I screamed, my body shaking with the powerful release, my world going black. Evan shook every time he pumped another dose of his seed into me. An animalistic growl eminating from deep within him burst forth, leaving him spent and gasping for air.

Evan realized I had passed out and had wrapped me in his sportcoat, placing me onto the rear bench seat of the truck. He kissed the soft curls of my hair before closing the door. After buckling his pants, he started the engine and drove us back to the house. He carried me upstairs, stripped us of our clothes and curled up in bed with me to fall fast asleep.

_Smart Stephanie woke first,' What time is it?' A second later Stupid Stephanie grumbled, 'Go back to bed Dummy. It's too early to be awake. You can run later.' Smart Stephanie poked Stupid Stephanie in the gut. 'See it's growing, we better go run and make it go away.' Stupid Stephanie glared at her gut, 'You better make it worth while. I'm exhasuted from dancing and the drive and...Evan.' Smart Stephanie melted a little, 'Oh, yeah. We did it in the truck with Evan last night didn't we?' Stupid Stephanie saw Smart Stephanie soften, "We did it after midnight, so if you think about it we did do our exercise for today... Let's go back to sleep.' Smart Stephanie sided with Stupid Stephanie, 'Yeah, let's go back to sleep. We've done enough exercise for today.'_

Twenty minutes later I awoke thinking about the most odd dream I had. I dreamt I had a converstion with myself about skipping my exercise today. Odd.I turned to look at the clock. 0445. Yeah, I think I better get up. As sore as I was from the night before, I thought it best to do a short run this morning, maybe only three or four miles. I dressed quickly and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I snuck over to the bed and poked Evan awake. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey."

"Ung! Can't I sleep in?"

"Nope."

"What time is it?"

"0450"

"Damn, alright. But it better be a short one."

"Only three or four miles."

"Can we skip the run and have a repeat of last night?"

"Evan Michael!"

"Alright, alright. I'm up."

"Meet you outside in 5."

After we stretched out, we headed down the road towards the gate. About halfway there, I slowed to a walk waiting for Evan to catch up. A moment later he ran up beside me and placed his hands on top of his head trying to steady his breathing. We rested for a few minutes to catch our breaths. "Angel?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to elope and then tell our parents later?"

"Oh, Evan!" I jumped into his arms kissing him with wild abandon. While in his tight sweaty embrace, he rubbed up and down my spine with his massive hands.

"We better get back, so we can make to mass." He swatted me on the ass and took off running back to the house. I ran next to him the rest of the way back, watching him lose himself in his thoughts. I must have run slightly off of the road in the dark, because the next thing I knew, I stumbled and fell. A loud crunch accompanied by an ungodly amount of pain in my ankle stopped me dead in my tracks on the ground. I screamed, grabed my ankle and rolled onto my side.

Evan ran to my side, and he dropped down to his knees. "Angel! Baby! Are you okay?"

"No." I ground out, still holding my ankle. "I think I broke my ankle. I went off the road and turned it."

He looked down to see where I had hurt myself. "Son of a bitch! Angel. You're going to be okay. I'm going to carry you back to the house. It's less than a mile and we can call Dr. Horton to come look at you. He'll take real good care of you Angel. I promise." Evan gingerly lifted me into his massive arms and cradled me against his chest. He managed to walk with me about a hundred yards before Pop rolled up in his truck.

"She okay?"

"No. She rolled her ankle. We need to get her back to the house, it's already turned black and blue and it's swollen. She needs Dr. Horton right away."

"Hop in and we'll get her back." Evan placed me in the middle and put my legs in his lap as he took the passenger side seat. I screamed as I was jostled by the bumps in the road.

"It's alright Angel. I'm right here. I'm right here Steph." Evan held my hand with one hand and held my now hugely swollen ankle up with the other. We pulled up to the house with Momma waiting on the porch.

"Evan put her in the Study. I called Dr. Horton, told him that someone was hurt and needed to get here quickly. He should be here in less than fifteen minutes." Evan sat me down on a formal sofa, rasied my leg with a needlepoint pillow and knelt at my side. He kissed my temple, stroking my hair, comforting me. I groaned in agony, feeling my pulse become a throbbing within the black and blue volleyball sized lump that once was my ankle. Evan ran upstairs to bring me a t-shirt to throw on over my sports bra. Returning he helped me tug it over my head and adjust it.

When Dr. Horton arrived he rushed into the Study dropped his black doctor's bag and knelt by my ankle. "Mack, what happened?"

"She stepped into a ground squirrell hole and fell. I heard a crunch just as she fell. No other injuries onther than her ankle, that I can see." The cool, calm and collected Ram that I knew from work had returned. He gave his assessment and backed off leaving the professional to do his work. Until, I screamed. When Dr. Horton touched my ankle, Rangeman Ram disappeared and my caring and concerned Evan returned. He returned to my side and stroked my face, whispering in my ear, "It will be okay Angel" "I love you Angel" "Let's get married as soon as possible Angel".

I squeezed his hand and horsely whispered into his, "I love you too". Tears fell unchecked and Momma supplied her own tears as well. She was beside herself watching me in agony. "Momma." I ground out. "I think I'm going to miss mass today. I'm sorry."

"Darlin' you will stay here with Evan and I. Pop and the boys can go without us."

Both Justin and Junior had stumbled down the stairs during the wait for Dr. Horton. Standing out of the way for most of it, Justin stepped up to Dr. Horton. "I can fly her into Bozeman if she needs to."

Dr. Horton stood and looked at me. "Justin, you won't need to just yet. Ms. Plum, I'm glad to say that I think you only dislocated it. It's not an easy fix, but at least it's not broken. I can pull it into place, but you may want to do it in the hospital."

"NOOOO! No hospitals!" I screamed clawing at Evan's arm. He held me tighter, patting my back.

"She doesn't do hospitals. Not for her anyway. Can we do it here, right? We can reset her ankle here?"

Dr. Horton grabbed for his black bag and said, "I'll need some help. Let's move her onto the floor." They transfered me onto the floor with minimal added pain. "Mack grab an arms, Justin grab the other arm, Pop grab her good leg and Junior hold her injured leg steady." He patted me on my middle to get my attention. "Ms. Plum, I'm going to count to three and then I'm going to realign the joint. Okay?" He moved to kneel at my feet. "Alright. One... Two... THREE!" I passed out from the pain right away. Dr. Horton tugged my ankle to one side then the other before he popped my ankle back into position with a loud 'POP".

Evan held me as Dr. Horton waved smelling salts under my nose to wake me. When I came to, my ankle was wrapped in a bandage and I felt like I was floating. "Angel. Wake up Honey." I smiled as I focused on his face. "Dr. Horton realigned your ankle and he gave you some pain meds."

"That's why I'm floaty! I like this stuff. It's good stuff!" I babbled as I looked around the room. We had moved to our room, I recognized the softness of the bed. "Baby."

"Yes, Angel?"

"I'm sorry. I'm such a clutz. I should have been," I used air quotes, "more aware of my surroundings." I pouted. "Ranger's going to kill me. Here I do real good defending myself against a psycho chick, I kick her ass twice and I get my ass handed to me by a rodent who should have been a target yesterday afternoon." I shook my head in my hands. "Why me?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while. I do not profit from my works.**

**Chapter 17**

Momma appeared in our doorway a little later, she glanced down at Evan asleep on the sofa and smiled at me. She carried a small wooden box, tied with a faded yellow ribbon. She carefully lowered herself onto the bed next to me, and kissed my forehead. "Hi, Darlin'. How ya' feelin'?"

"Better now that the pain meds kicked in. Dr. Horton was so nice to come here so early in the morning."

"Darlin'. It's his calling. He always wanted to be a doctor since he was a little boy. He thrives on it. He came back a little while ago and left you an ankle brace. Said you're supposed to wear it when the swelling goes down a bit. And you're supposed to check in with Bobby when you get back to work, first thing. He'll be expecting you, I called him and told him what happened."

I groaned and smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand. "I'll never live this one down."

"Darlin', Bobby knows me. I asked him not to tell anyone there, even Ranger. I suppose he's called Dr. Horton, I gave him his cell number. Expect to be on desk duty for a while Darlin'."

I grimmaced, "Great! More searches, just what I need." She shifted slightly, moving the box from the bed to her lap.

"Darlin' I thought you would like to see this." She gently pulled at the tattered end of the faded ribbon. It slid off of the wooden box, and she carefully wound the ribbon over her well caloused hand. "I received this from Turk's mother before we were married. It is a tradition in his family for the wife of the first married son to receive it. When your son is to be married, you are to pass it to your first future daughter-in-law."

Using just her fingertips, she lifted the scarred lid. Inside were scraps of fabric, ribbons, photographs and a deep dark sapphire pendant suspended from a thin and delicate gold necklace. She picked up the fabric scraps, running her fingers over them softly. "Darlin' every woman who had received this box has placed a swatch of fabric from her wedding dress inside after the ceremony." She picked up a particularly old lacy square, yellowed with age. "This was from Evan's Great-Great-Great Grandmother Eunice's wedding dress. She was the first of the Ramsey wives here in Montana, her husband Sven brought her here. This was her box, and her idea to carry on this tradition."

Momma smiled, little lines formed at the corner's of her eyes. "These are the ribbons that we have woven into our hair for our wedding day." She held up five ribbons, all green, some faded more than others. "It symoblizes the bounty of the union. For bountiful love, bountiful children, for a bountiful life." My eyes locked onto the ribbons as she picked one up that was intricately woven with a design of golden wheat sheaves, but much shorter than the others. "This was Evan's Great-Great Grandmother Mary's ribbon. She lost her husband John, to scarlet fever after their eighth child was born. She had half of this ribbon buried with John." A lone tear streaked down my cheek. Saddened by the tale of loss, I patted Momma's hand.

The photographs were placed into my hands. Five sets of pictures dating back to 1872. They showed the brides and grooms standing or sitting side by side. Some were smiling, some not. It was not lost on me that, this was my legacy now, I was destined to become a Ramsey wife. I looked from picture to picture, before I paused to look at the photo of a happy couple from the early 1910's. Momma smiled, "They are Evan's Great-Grandparents, Beatrice and Lawrence Ramsey. They were married in 1913. They are the couple that moved from the homestead about a mile over to build a home here. The remanants of that building are the foundation and walls for the kitchen we have today. So that we could keep a bit of them in the home, we made sure to include their home into ours when we built this house around it after Pop came back from serving in Vietnam."

She placed the photos on the bed and brought out the sapphire necklace. She held it up in the light allowing the rays of sun streaming in from the window to catch and play in the sapphire. "This was Evan's Grandmother Wilma's necklace. She received it from her husband James, the day of their tenth wedding anniversary. The next day, he shipped out to fight against the Germans in World War II. She had five boys and two girls to care for while he was gone. Happily, he made it home alive and well, albeit with a slight limp."

She stared out the window for a moment before reaching down into the very bottom of the box. She paused and tilted her head to look into my eyes. "This is from the day I married Turk." She pulled out a gold brooch, "It was my mother's. She gave it to me the day before she died giving birth to my baby sister. She said for me to wear it pinned to the underside of my wedding dress the day I was married, so she would be there with me." She batted her eyes, attempting to will back her tears.

"Now that you are going to marry Evan, you must decide what to add to this box. After you add the fabric swatch, the green ribbon from your hair, and a photo of the two of you, you must put something that you value and deem important to the future generations of Ramsey women inside. Tie the ribbon and leave it safely tucked away until the time your son decides he is ready to marry the woman he loves."

Hot tears tracked down my face, Feeling flushed I fanned myself. Momma smiled and patted my hand softly. "Momma. I can't tell you how honored I am to become part of this family. I know what I would like to add to the box. I have a gold pocket watch that belonged to my Grandfather before he passed. He received it from his mother the day he married my Grandmother. It is engraved inside the hinged cover. It says, 'Make time for one another, love one another, live your lives as one.' I want to add it to the box. It is perfect and I want my children and their children to know about their heritage." Momma kissed me on the cheek and we cried quietly, together, sharing the special moment.

Evan woke after his mother had returned to the kitchen to prepare lunch for those who were returning from mass. He noticed the box sitting on the nightstand. "Momma shared the box with you I see." His green eyes sparkled with happiness. "She has waited a long time to share it. I'm glad you're the one to receive it."

I reached my arms out to him, settling onto the bed taking me in his arms, I sighed. "Evan, I wanted to elope, but I'm not sure I can do that to your mother. I love her so much already and I can't do that to her. She deserves to be able to watch her son marry the woman he loves, and she deserves to see me carry on the Ramsey wives tradition."

"Me too Angel. Me too." He tugged a curl of my hair, "I can't wait to see the green ribbon woven into your hair." He leaned down to brush his lips across mine. "How is your ankle feeling?"

"Better. The swelling is already starting to go down. See?" He examined my wrapped ankle, and nodded.

"Dr. Horton said that the swelling should be gone in a day or so. Says you're one tough cookie. He told Pop and Momma that that fall should have snapped your leg in two. But because you are in such good shape your muscles and tendons stretched allowing your leg to fold instead of breaking. Are you feeling up to eating lunch down in the kitchen? I can carry you down and we can prop your foot up on an extra chair and pillow."

"Please." At that time my stomach proceeded to growl in a very unladylike manner.

"Angel, sounds like we need to feed the beast." A wide grin spread across his face as he lifted me in his arms and headed to the door.

After we had finished eating, Justin asked about the reunion picnic. "Are you going to stay home or are you going to take her to the picnic?"

"I dunno? If I can keep her in one spot, I'll take her."

I nodded and held out my pinky finger. "I swear I'll stay in one spot. No moving unless you say so." Pouting, "I really don't want to miss the last chance to see everyone. They have all been so nice to me. And you'll want a chance to say goodbye to your friends who are leaving."

"Alright Angel. If you feel up to it." He captured my pinky in his and squeezed gently.

We arrived at the Kessler Ranch and headed down their road to the barn and pond. Pulling up alongside the rest of the trucks, Evan put his truck in park and helped me down. Handing me a pair of crutches Justin found in the attic, I hobbled over to Sissy, Freddie and Deeter. "Steph, Honey! What happened?" Sissy came running up, and stopped me.

"I got into a fight with a ground squirrell and lost." I shrugged my shoulders, nearly losing my balance in the process. Evan steadied me, handed the crutches off the Deeter and picked me up in his massive arms and carried me to a padded chaise lounge chair in the shade of a curly willow tree.

Deeter shook his head at me, "Damn squirrells!" Crash came jogging up, clad in nothing but a pair of cutoff jeans, drenched from his dip in the pond.

"Steph! How did you hurt yourself this time?" He frowned examining my ankle.

"Ground Squirrell."

"The bane of ranchers everywhere. Break anything?"

"Nope." I smiled sheepishly. "I only dislocated my ankle. But Dr. Horton pulled it back into position and wrapped it for me."

"Good thing he did it. He's the best in the county." He smiled and patted me on the shoulder.

As I lounged in the chair I watched the rest of the class swim and chat in groups. I relaxed enjoying the view from my little corner of the picnic. Evan had jumped into the pond, instantly becoming a kid magnet. He spent hours flinging kids across the water, playing chicken with the guys and drenching the sunbathers with cannonballs. Every so often he would come back to check on me. Sissy spent most of her time with me, as we chatted about wedding ideas. She stilled when I mentioned Momma had shown me the wedding box. "She showed you?" She was shocked.

"Yeah why?"

"She never showed it to Macey. We asked. There's something about Momma you need to know." Sissy whispered looking around for anyone who might be listening. "The people around here call it 'Second Sight'. She can see thing that happen in the future."

"Oh, great!" I hung my head in my hands. "One of my ex-boyfried's grandmother was like that. But she could put a curse on you as well. I had one put on me until she realized that I wasn't with him anymore and removed it."

"What was it?"

"You really want to know?" I giggled, and she nodded furiously. "She put the 'Vordo' on me. It made me WAYYYYY horney. I couldn't get enough. I had sex anywhere I could, until she removed it."

"You weren't with Mack at the time were you." I shook my head.

"No. I was with Ranger. Our boss. He never knew what hit him, until we damn near broke the seat in his Porshe when we christened it."

"A Porche? Damn, girl. Was it really a curse or was it something better?"

"Personally... I liked it. At the time I thought it sucked, I couldn't keep control of myself. But looking back on it, OMG it was so much fun!" I laughed hard, wincing with pain when I jerked my foot. "Evan doesn't know. I don't think I could tell him. I know it broke his heart everyday seeing me with Ranger. I'm just glad I came to my senses and realized I am in love with Evan, and have been for a long time." We sat in silence for a long time, watching the happenings around us. Crash flopped onto the seat next to me sighing, obviously content.

"Steph, when are you two flying home?"

"Tomorrow night. Justin's flying us back to Helena just after lunch."

"Well , I head back to Idaho Tuesday. I had hoped to visit with Mack more."

"Why don't you visit us in Trenton sometime. I'd love to show you around my hometown." I gave him a million dollar smile. "Plus, I know lots of single hot ckicks!"

"DONE!" He laughed. "I'll still see you at the wedding. And that's only four months away. You gonna be ready in time?"

"I was born ready to marry Evan."

"Atta' girl!"

The rest of the picnic was enjoyable. I napped a little near the end, my meds had worn off and I was in pain and tired from the long day. Evan said his goodbyes and gingerly loaded me into the truck for the ride back to the house. "Angel?"

"Yes Baby?"

"You really are the love of my life. You know that right?"

"Yes I do." I smiled as I drifted off to sleep, snuggled into the passenger seat of his truck.

I woke up a little after everyone else had eaten supper. The sounds of deep baritone voices reached my ears, singing a tune I knew well. I turned my head to see Justin and Evan singing a little louder than they intended to, earbuds in their ears listening to Godsmack on the computer. I started to giggle as I listened to them switch to a Led Zepplin song. Not being able to take it anymore I threw a pillow at them. "What the hell?" Justin turned to see me flip him the finger. Evan smiled and slapped Justin in the back of his head. Justin yanked the earbuds out of his ears, and tackled Evan knocking him from the chair. They rolled around on the floor rying to get the upper hand on one another, until I finally yelled for them to chill out.

They both lay on the floor, prone, and breathing heavily. "You're getting soft RAM!" I choked out trying not to laugh too hard. "Ranger's gonna have your ass in a sling when he sees how soft you've gotten."

Justin turned his head to me, "Is he a hard man to work for? Seriously."

"Ranger only hires the best of the best. He expects so much from the guys. Not only does he expect complete loyalty, he expects who ever he hires to be able to bring something to the team no one else can. Not only am I the comic relief at Rangeman, I have what I call my Spidey Sense. I can tell when things are going to go bad in a situation, or if someone is going to get hurt. Ranger listens to me becaue it has proved itself time and time again. Your brother is the weapons specialist and sniper. He is in charge of all weapons and ammo at Rangeman. Plus he is the range master. And he is our go to guy when it come to difficult long range shots. Between Evan and Ranger they could take out a whole battalion just themselves."

"Why, are you interested?"

"Yeah. I need a change of scenery. Pop just hired another two hands to help out here, so I'm not really needed. Plus Pop is selling the chopper, says it's getting too expensive to maintain. So I won't have anything to do here. I thought I might try to apply at Rangeman. But I wanted to ask you both if that was okay with you first. I don't want to step on anyone's toes. And I promise I won't tell any embarassing stories about you growing up."

"Angel. Isn't Raider leaving us soon?"

"The chopper pilot? I think so. But what woul..." I stopped and a slow wide grin spread across my face. "Justin. Can you fly any kind of chopper?"

Puzzled, Justin nodded, "As long as it has rotors I can fly it. Why?"

"Any experience in an airplane?"

"Yeah, I took flying lesson from the time I was ten. Got my pilots license when I turned 17. Why?"

"I think I may have to talk to Ranger about a new candidate for our pilot's position." He grinned and punched Evan in the arm jokingly, "Hey, bro. Any chance I could get hired on in Miami? I'd really like to see the hot chicks down there."

Evan shook his head. "Nope. This position is based out of Trenton. But Miami has nothin' on Jersey girls!" I giggled and threw my last pillow at them both.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I'm borrowing them for a while. I do not profit from this work.**

**Chapter 18**

Sitting on the sofa watching tv, a knock on the door brought me out of watching a rerun of NCIS. "Enter."

Evan walked in with Smoltz hot on his heels. "Angel, Smoltz is here for your statement about last night."

"Great." I rolled my eyes. Smoltz sat on the love seat and pulled his notepad and pen from his chest pocket. He noticed the condition of my ankle and frowned.

"This from last night?" He gestured to my foot.

"Nope." I proceeded to recount how I had injured my ankle. After I had finished, he shook his head.

"Well, we better get this done so I can finish up my report." I told him the entire story from start to finish. Being sure to include the bit about Brittany coming at me a second time after being cuffed. I did, however fail to mention about the little exchange about my Glock and her little pistol. Hey, I wasn't stupid. I didn't have a concealed weapon's permit, and I didn't want to go to jail like Brittany. After I finished I yawned and asked Evan for more pain meds, I was getting sore again. Smoltz left the ranch after saying goodbye to Evan and I.

Hearing yelling and laughing coming from downstairs an hour later, I opened my eyes. I had fallen asleep on the sofa and rubbed my eyes while I sat up. It continued, only louder. I grabbed the crutches and headed down to see what was going on. I knew something was 'off' when I felt a familiar tingle at the back of my neck. My spidey sense felt something was up. By the time I reached the bottom stair, I was tired and my arms felt achy. I gimped my way into the kitchen, and stopped in my tracks. I saw stars and started to wobble. "Bomber!" I felt strong familiar hands catch me and lower me into a chair. I placed my head on the table for a moment to clear my head. I must be dreaming, I thought. I lifted my head slightly to peek out. NOPE! I was definately not dreaming. Because in front of me stood not only Evan, Momma, Pop, Justin and Junior, but also Ranger, Tank, Bobby, Hal, Cal, and a very tired looking Lester. Bobby knelt down next to me, "Bomber, Honey. Are you okay?" I nodded that I was.

"How? Why? You..." I stammered completely flumuxed as to why they were here. I looked at my favorite guys. "Why are you guys here?"

Ranger came to me, wrapped me in a warm hug, kissed my cheek. "Babe. Ram called us last night before he went to bed. He wanted to suprise you."

I turned to Evan, giving him a huge hug. "But why? Why did you call them?"

He shrugged and smiled. "With everything that's happened in the past couple of days, I thought you would need the support. I had already asked Ranger yesterday to check out Justin for Raider's position. So he was going to come alone for that, but after I told him about what happened with Brittany, all the guys had to come."

Ranger glared at Tank, "I didn't help that Tank put the phone on speaker. So they all heard it." He motioned to the rest of the guys.

Evan brushed a stray curl out of my blue eyes, looking deep into them. "I can't believe you did this for me." I blushed and lowered my eyes. "I can't believe you guys would come all the way here just for me."

"Beautiful. We'd go anywhere for you. We love you. Hell, I'd fight off the entire world for you." I smiled at Les. I knew how he felt about me. Hell, I knew how they all felt about me.

Momma greeted all the guys with hugs and Pop, Justin and Junior shook hands with the Rangemen. Evan asked Ranger, "Hungry?" The guys all nodded. "Rita's is still open. I know Crash, Freddie and Deeter would love to meet you guys."

"And Sissy. She think you guys are H-O-T, hot!" I giggled. "At the reunion we saw the pic of you guys the last time you were in the wind. I do have to say, all the women in the gym had hot flashes. I know I did!" I looked at Evan before capturing his lips with mine. "Now, will someone help me get into the truck, I want to introduce you to Evan's friends."

"Angel. You'll have ride with Tank in the SUV if that's okay? I don't want you falling out of the truck again with your ankle like that."

"Thanks. It's hard enought getting into that thing without being hurt. Let's head out now before it gets too late."

Tank walked over and gently picked me up into his girgantic arms cradling me against his broad chest. I snuggled in and pointed to the door, "To the Batmobile!" We walked out of the house to a chorus of laughter as Ranger said, "Babe!"

Cal opened the door to the SUV as Tank set me down carefully next to it. I hopped over and pulled myself into the seat. I yelled to Evan, "Hey, you think Justin and Junior want to go?" He nodded and went back inside to collect his brothers. Tank drove the SUV with Ranger, Hal, Lester and myself. By the time we hit the road five minutes later, I had already pulled my cell phone out and dialed Sissy.

I switched to speaker phone holding up so the others in the SUV could hear. A gentle voice answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Sissy? It's Stephanie."

"Hey! What's up?"

"Remember when I told you about the guys from Rangeman?"

"The hotties?" Hal blushed, while Tank and Lester smiled. Ranger just shook his head.

"Yup. Guess what?"

"You won the lottery?"

"No, silly. They're here."

She shrieked. The guys winced at the sheer volume and tone. "As in here, here? Like Powderville, here?"

"Yup." I smiled, "And you're on speaker phone right now."

"SHIT! I mean... Hi guys." I doubled over laughing. "Steph? Steph are you there?"

I calmed enough to resume my conversation. "Yeah, I'm here. Hey, we're headed to Rita's. You wanna come meet my boys?" At the mention of the name 'my boys' Ranger turned to me rolling his eyes.

"You have no idea. But if you tell Deeter I acted like this, you are SOOOOOO dead!"

"I promise. Can you call the guys and have them meet us there. I'd really like for all of you to meet each other."

"Done. Now hurry up! I need to meet them!"

"We'll be there in 10." And before I could stop myself, I asked her one last question, "Sissy, can you ask Freddie to bring his disk. He'll know what I mean."

"Sure thing. See you in a few."

"Bye." I snapped the phone shut and smiled at my guys. "Sissy's really nice. She's married to Evan's friend, Deeter. I told her all about you guys, and when she saw the photo I mentioned earlier, she just about creamed her jeans."

"Babe." Ranger sighed. And Tank shook with laughter. Hal blushed an even deeper red and Lester just gave his trademark lopsided smile with a wink.

"What? It's true." I glanced out the front windshield watching Evan's truck in the lead. Thinking on my feet, I remembered something I had been confused about when I first met Evan's friends. "Hey, before we get to Rita's, I need to let you guys know that Evan isn't called Evan or Ram here. He goes by Mack."

Hal tilted his head slightly, puzzled. "Mack?"

"Yeah he got it from his days playing high school football. They started calling him Mack because he hit the other guys like a Mack Truck. So it stuck, only his family and I call him Evan."

"Damn, Ram comes from a tiny town." Lester said, peering out toward town.

"About 200 people total. But they're some of the nicest people I've ever met, so be on your best behavior!" I admonished them gently.

"Yes Babygirl."

We pulled up next to Evan's giant truck, Lester smiled. "Hey, Ram? This isn't this the place you told me about, is it?"

"The very same. Welcome to Rita's guys." He held the door open for us to enter. When we had all filed in, Evan motioned for us to take a seat at a large table near the back of the place. "I'll be right back. I gotta let Rita know there's gonna be a bunch of us." He walked over to the swinging kitchen door and went right through.

"Bomber? So where's this Sissy and Skeeter?"

"It's Sissy and Deeter. They'll be here soon. Crash and Freddie shouldn't be too long after. If I'm not mistaken half the town will be here too. Word travels around here faster than in the Berg." I smiled and motioned to the door. "I guess you guys you'll be big news around here. Not every day that you get to see bad ass mercenaries here in Powderville, Montana."

Ranger turned to look me in the eyes, "So what's with the crutches and wrapped ankle? Brown wouldn't tell us."

I sighed and regaled the story of my run and subsequent fall. By the time I had finished, Evan had returned carrying a huge tray full of beers. He handed them out, suspiciously quiet, and then seated himself next to me. I noticed that he didn't talk much the next few minutes. I leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Baby, are you all right? You're so quiet all of a sudden."

He leaned into my ear and replied quietly, "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just so used to being quiet around them, it's hard not to fall back into normal mode around them. I'll talk more Angel. I promise." I nodded and kissed his cheek sweetly.

Just as I sat back up, I heard the door slam open and Crash yell at the top of his lungs, "MACK TRUCK!"

Evan jumped up, and hollared back, "CRASH BANDICOOT!" The guys sat there stunned, as Evan ran to Crash picked him up, chucked him over his shoulder and walked back to the table followed by Deeter, Freddie and Sissy. He set him down in a chair hard. The Rangemen were quiet taking the whole scene in, watching Evan in his element. He turned to the guys, "Ranger... Guys... I want you to meet my friends. Crash, Freddie, Deeter, and this is Deeter's wife Sissy." They all smiled, while Sissy blushed a bright bright red.

"Sissy, can I see you for a minute outside?" I asked grabbing my crutches. She helped me outside before she burst out in laughter.

"OMG! You are so right! They are soooooo hot! When did they get here?"

"Just before we got here. Ranger is here to check out Justin for a job with Rangeman. The guys just came along for the ride. Cool, huh!"

"Way cool. So go in and introduce me already!"

I hobbled my way back to the table before Sissy came back a minute later. I noticed that Evan had loosened up and was talking a mile a minute. It was interesting watching him balancing both sets of friends, he neither neglected nor favored one over the other. He was pretty equal about the stories he shared about each group. Before too long Rita came out carrying the first load of food, she handed out burgers and fries until her tray was empty. She returned to kitchen only to come back with another full tray. She passed the remaining burgers and fries out, then she placed a huge green salad with low fat itallian dressing in front of Ranger. Deeter, Sissy, Freddie and Crash all stopped talking and looked at him like he had grown two heads or something. I piped up, saving Ranger. "Don't worry. He's always like that. Something having to do with his body is a temple thing."

Sissy giggled, and whispered to me, "I sure is. I'd worship at his temple twice a day." I choked on my beer laughing, gasping for air.

Evan patted me on the back, "You okay Angel?" I nodded and giggled some more.

After we had eaten, Rita came back with another round of beers. Freddie waved the disk at me and shouted over the noise. "Hey Steph! I got it!"

I gave him a thumbs up and motioned to Rita, for her to talk to me. "Do you have a DVD player hooked up to the big screen?"

"Yeah. You got somethin' you wanna show your friends?" She smiled, knowing full well that I wanted to show them the surveilance footage of me kicking Brittany's ass. I handed the disk to her, and nodded. "Give me about a minute and I'll get it que'd up."

"Thanks Rita." She turned and headed to the back room. I stood up and yelled, "HEY! SHUT UP!" The stunned looks on their faces was priceless. "I have a little suprise for you. I know Evan told you about the incident with his ex-girlfriend. Well, I have footage." I motioned towards the big screen tv.

Freddie smiled and stood up to add, "I added additional footage from the ladies room in the school. I know you'll really like to see that one." I bounced in my seat with anticipation, waiting for the pictures to come on. In a few seconds the first images from the store came onto the screen. Rita turned up the volume as high as it could go and stepped back to watch.

Evan was leaning against the stack of canned goods in the corner waiting on me. Brittany walks up, greets Evan with a "Mack!" and hugs a clearly uncomfortable Evan, before she starts to gently rake her fingernails down his chest and middle, all the while she's smiling. I came out of the dressing room smiling, until my gaze fell upon a flustered and clearly desperate to flee Evan. I crossed my arms and put on my best berg glare. _"Excuse me? Why do you have your hands all over my man?" She turned on her heels to look me in the eyes. _

_"So you're the hot shot she-male bounty hunter that's stolen MY man."_

_I growled as she stepped into my personal space, "Bitch, back the fuck off!"_

_"Mack, I can't believe you would want to be with this foul mouthed cow." She called over her shoulder to Evan._

_I came unglued, "That's it! You are a whore! You are a serial divorcee', you can't keep a man happy so they stray on you, you have had too much botox, and not enough tummy tucks. You need to wax your lip and get your teeth fixed, because honey you're a mess."_

_Brittany backed up, before she wagged her boney finger in my face. "You are a homewrecker, and you need to learn to be a woman again. Hanging around nothing but men has made you into one!"_

_"You better watch what you say about any employee of Rangeman LLC. Defamation of character is something we take seriously. The last jackass that tried to do that ended up without a penny. SO, Bitch, watch it." I stepped up right into her face, flashing my ring in the light. "So, if he's yours then why did WE just tell his parents WE are getting married? And why did WE tell my parents WE are getting married? Just for shits and giggles? I don't think so. You better back off Bitch, he is ALL mine." _

_I turned and started to walk back to the dressing room, Evan shouted "Six o clock!", I was knocked forwards onto my knees. Evan shouted for Freddie, as I stood up. I touched my shoulder, bringing my hand around I saw it covered in blood. I turned around to find Brittany holding a shovel in her hands. "Did you just hit me with that?" I pointed to the shovel. She stammered and tried to back up. "Bitch this is going to be the single worst day of your life." I yelled to Evan who had gone to the front of the store for backup, "Evan she hit me with the shovel. She tried to kill me!" Her eyes grew wide with fear. She tried to back away but managed to corner herself against pallets of canned goods. I moved on instinct, sweeping her feet out from under her. She fell onto her back dropping the shovel and I pounced. I brought my fist back and hit her square in the face, ONCE! Her nose began to spurt blood. She started to cry for her 'Mommy'._

Then the screen went to black. "DAMN BOMBER!" The guys were rolling on the floor laughing. "That chick did NOT know who she was dealing with!" Bobby chuckled. Ranger slapped Evan on the back, "Looks like you had a 5'1" blonde corner you. Think some mat time will cure that?" He chuckled. I was shocked. I rarely ever saw Ranger smile let alone laugh. It was historic. Evan was hanging his head in his hands when the screen popped up with an image of Britttany sneaking in and hiding in a stall of the bathroom. Everyone instantly quieted. A moment later Sissy and I entered.

_I dabbed my eyes with the tissue noticing Sissy watching me. "You okay?"_

_"Yeah. I just realize how much I love my boys." _At this point Lester gave a loud "AWWWW!" I silenced him with my Burg glare.

_"They are the hottest bunch of guys I've seen." _Lester whistled and yelled at the screen, "You better belive it sister!" I shushed him before I heard myself answer Sissy on the screen

_"You have no idea. They are so much hotter in person. Believe me, I tease my boss about only hiring the hottest guys around."_

_"I can see that."_

_"The more muscles the better. You should see when we all get into the gym at 0500 every morning."_

_"You get to see those guys in their gym clothes?"_

_"Better. Most of the time, they don't wear t-shirts. It's like OMG!" _Hal and Cal both blushed, Lester grinned like a damned fool, Ranger rolled his eyes, Tank snickered, Bobby frowned, and Evan chuckled.

_Sissy fanned herself, "I think you are the luckiest girl in the world. You're marrying Mack, and you work with the hottest guys I've ever seen."_

_I shrugged, "It's a living." And I chuckled. As we turned to leave, a familiar voice came from one of the bathroom stalls. _

_"You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" I froze. I knew that voice. I slowly turned to see Brittany had exited the stall and was holding a small pistol at both Sissy and I. _Ranger stiffened and watched my reaction to the images on the screen. It was wierd seeing and hearing myself on tv, I never thought I looked like that when I was thrust into a dangerous situation. I had donned a typical Rangeman blank face as I spoke to Brittany. I looked like a bad ass! I smiled a little at that thought.

_"What are you doing?" I hissed at Brittany, as I looked at Sissy who was standing at my side. I slowly moved my hand out and moved Sissy behind me. "Brittany, it's over. You lost Evan a long time ago. You broke his heart and he moved on." I was slowly advancing on her._

_She screeched, "Stop moving!" She stomped her foot, the sound echoing in the tile clad bathroom. "You ruined my last chance with Mack. I had this one last chance, and you ruined it for me. I had planned on getting him back months ago. But you... YOU!" She screeched again. "You come here all high and mighty, miss bounty hunter, and show me up in front of all my friends."_

_"Brittany..." I was pissed now. I kicked off my shoes and had taken up a defensive posture waiting on her next move. "You never had a chance. Evan loves me. He has for years. You are nothing but history." And with the last word I jumped forward and tried to kick the gun from her hand. She held on, but the gun went off, the bullet lodged itself in the ceiling. Sissy made a run for it as I squared off with psycho bitch from hell. Brittany crashed back into the wall, and my instincts kicked in. I punched her in the jaw, and kneed her in the gut. She gave a quiet little 'ompf' as the wind was knocked out of her. She raised her arm trying to shoot at me again before I gave her a mighty roundhouse knocking her to the ground. We wrestled with the gun, and she dropped it. It skittered across the floor to the door. She clawed and scratched at me before I gave her a few more punches to the face. Wanting it to be over I gave her a hefty karate chop to her vagus nerve, she slumped to the floor unconscious. _

_I scrambled over to the gun and flicked on the safety. A few moments later Evan and half of the guys from the reunion burst into the bathroom to find me fixing my makeup and hair at the mirror, with Brittany bloody and unconscious but cuffed on the floor. I looked at Evan and pouted holding up one of my finger, "She made me break a nail." Evan couldn't stop laughing, even with Brittany coming to. _

_Two of guys walked over and pulled Brittany to her feet. She realized that there were people watching her. She screamed at them, "She attacked me. She tried to shoot me!"_

_I shook my head and retreived my purse. "Brittany I don't use a little peashooter like that." I pointed to her little pistol. "I use this." I pulled the Glock 19 out of my purse. "A real woman knows how to shoot. And I don't mean the ceiling." I pointed up. "Don't forget I wasn't the only one in here when you pulled your gun on me. Sissy was here too. You stupid cow!" I started to yell. "You belong in jail. I can't belive someone was stupid enough to bail your ass out the first time. Now you're not getting out. Attempted murder is a serious offense." I walked into Evans arms, and turned my head to look at Brittany once again. "Evan and I are getting married and there is nothing you can do to stop us."_

_She was yelling and screaming at the men who held her. She struggled out of their hands to come at me once again. Before anyone else could react, I swept her feet out from under her and placed my foot on her throat constricting her airway. She held still. I struggled to hold my temper, "Stay down. Or next time, I will not hesitate to take you down for good." The guys reappeared with Deputy Smoltz, he pulled her up off the floor and replaced his cuffs for mine. He handed Evan my cuffs. _

When the screen went to black, the room erupted in whistles, clapping, yelling and cheering. My bight red cheeks flushed against my pale skin. Evan wrapped his massive arms around me in a reassuring hug. Ranger walked over to me, dropped down to his knees, and smiled his 2,000-watt smile. "Babe. You kicked ass! You even remembered to stand in a defensive posture. And that kick! That was great. From now on... full contact at mat-time for you." He teased, bumping his shoulder into mine, before he kissed my on the forehead. "I'm proud of you Babe." He started to laugh again, "And the whole bit comparing her gun to yours was funny." But just as I started to smile back at him, his blank face fell back into place. "You made sure not to tell the cop about that part?"

I nodded. "Ranger, you taught me well. In fact you're the reason I thought about the whole defamation of character thing. I think she bought it. She's probably wondering if I'm going to sue the shit out of her."

He cocked his head, "Are you?"

I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. "Don't know yet. Maybe."

Ranger smiled again, "Babe!"

Evan sat me on his lap as I told Crash, Sissy, Deeter and Freddie about our adventures at Rangman. Tank was pounding the table while laughing making the beer bottles jump when I told them the story about Ranger's Porche getting blown up and crushed. "And when the bomb blew, the car flipped and the garbage truck fell over on top of it squishing it to about a foot and a half tall." Ranger rolled his eyes. Sissy asked him, "Don't you mind her wrecking your cars so much?"

He stated matter of factly, "We just write them off. I have great insurance." Evan clapped him on his back and smiled.

"Bossman, She's taken out over twenty vehicles over the last three years, between yours and hers." Evan turned to Crash, "Makes you crashing into the church seem tame doesn't it?"

Crash smiled and patted my knee. "Steph, you're dangerous. Remind me never to piss you off and never to lend you my truck." I smiled.

"Did Evan ever tell you about my old apartment?" I asked Deeter and Freddie. Shaking their heads, I told them all about it. I finished telling them, "I had it firebombed probably a total of five times. My landlord hated me. This last time, I couldn't take it anymore. I completely lost it. Then Ranger..." I patted Ranger on his knee, "suggested for me to move into one of the Rangeman apartments. So I'll have it until I get married." I looked at Evan before I kissed his soft lips gently.

We laughed and joked well into the night. Sometime around midnight, we said our goodbyes to Evan's local friends, and headed back to the house. Before we loaded up into the truck and SUV, I pulled Evan aside. "Baby, where are we all going to sleep?"

"Angel, don't worry about it. Pop has an extra bunkhouse that isn't being used right now. They're going to stay there, except Lester. He has to stay in the house. Bobby's orders."

"But all the rooms are taken."

"He's going to sleep on my couch. I hope you don't mind." He smiled sheepishly.

"Baby. I guess so. As long as he keeps clothes on when he sleeps, I'm fine with it."

Evan motioned to Lester, and he slowly moved over to us. He was still moving slow and taking it easy from the injuries he sustained when he was attacked. "What's the verdict?"

"Angel says you have to at least wear some tidy-whiteys."

Lester gave an evil grin, "But Beautiful, I didn't bring any."

I yelled at him gaining the other guy's attention. "Lester Santos! I know damn well you keep an extra pair of underwear in your duffle. So, don't try to tell me you didn't bring any. YOU ARE NOT SLEEPING IN MY ROOM WITHOUT ANY CLOTHES ON!"

Ranger barked, "SANTOS! Wear the damn panties or you sleep in the SUV!"

Les hung his head, "Yes Sir." We loaded back into the truck and SUV and headed back to the house. I fell asleep less than thirty seconds into the trip and slept the entire ride back. When we pulled up into the yard, I woke with a start, unsure of where I was at. Hal whispered, "It's alright Bomber. I got 'cha. Go back to sleep Sweetheart." I sleepily nodded and snuggled into him as he carried me into the house.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I'm just borrowing them. I do not profit from this work.**

**Chapter 19**

The feeling like I was being squished from two different sides woke me from a peaceful sleep. I opened my eyes to see Evan in front of me, angelic while asleep. I was pondering what was causing the squeezing feeling when I felt an arm move it's way over my middle pulling me backwards into someone's chest. I deduced it was Lester. He started to snore lightly and nuzzled his face into my hair, murmuring something about 'loving you for all time'. I gently turned over and looked to see Les curled up against me. Turning back to Evan, I gently nudged him awake. He opened his eyes, and focused on the arm slung around me. He looked to me, puzzled. He whispered to me, "What's he doing in bed with us?"

"I don't know." I cringed as he started to rub my stomach working his way higher towards my breasts. I looked at Evan, panic eveidently on my face. "Be gentle, he's still hurt." He nodded and worked himself out of bed without moving it much. He crept over to the other side next to Les and moved his arm off of me. He picked Les up in his arms, deposited his back onto the couch and covered him with his blankets.

He moved back under the blankets and scooted closer to me. "That was so wrong! Angel scoot over here and lets cuddle." I wiggled over putting my backside into his well muscled front. His arms wrapped around me and we fell back asleep quickly.

I sensed it was time to get up using my internal clock. I rolled over and looked to see that it was 0430. Yup time to get up and get going. I got up, using only one crutch, I grabbed my black cargo pants, a black t-shirt along with my undies and hobbled into the bathroom to dress. When I came back out, both Les and Evan had dressed and left the room. I put on the ankle brace and with a little difficulty, I tugged my boots back on. I was thankful that the swelling had gone down significantly, allowing me to finally put my boots on. I grabbed my black Rangeman jacket and hobbled down the stairs.

Sitting in a chair on the dark porch sipping a cup of coffee, I was nearly invisible in my black clothing. I watched as the guys came back from their morning run. Lester had tagged along, riding on a quad, keeping pace with them as they ran. They pulled up short of the house, even with them breathing breathing hard, I could still hear them talking. What I heard from Ranger next made my blood boil, "She'll have to stop chasing skips eventually. She's in great shape now, but what happens down the road? What happens if she gets pregnant? She can't put a baby in danger like that."

Evan shook his head, "I dunno Ranger. She'll fight me tooth and nail if I try to force her. But I know she's going to have to adjust some when she does get pregnant."

Ranger noticed the slight variation in the shades of black in my direction. He jerked his head towards me, "She's listening. I better go talk to her." He walked up the stairs and over to me, leaning against the railing crossing his arms and ankles. "I see the swelling went down."

"Yes, it did." I replied curtly. I continued to sip my coffee, his gaze never leaving me. I fumed inside. How dare he! I blew up. "Who the HELL do you think you are?" I started to make wide hand gestures as I yelled at him. "I can and will make decisions for myself. If I decide that a portion of my job is too dangerous, I'll tell you! If I start fail any of my fitness evals, fire me! Not if, but WHEN I become pregnant, I will adjust! I won't chase skips, I won't put my baby in danger like that! But don't you tell me what I can and can't do! DON"T TELL ME WHAT TO DO RANGER!" I turned to Evan who had settled himself next to Ranger, and with a little more venom than I intended I told him, "I know I'm stubborn, but _you _of all people, should know to ask me what I want to do!" I had to get away from them. I had to get away from all of them. Ignoring the pain in my ankle, I ran for the horse barn.

I threw open Comfort's stall door and saddled him quickly. Before Ranger and Evan could stop me, I had mounted Comfort and galloped out of the barn at full speed. I didn't care where we were headed, and let Comfort choose our direction. I clung to the saddlehorn with both hands sobbing while he ran. He must have sensed the way I felt because after about five minutes he slowed to a walk. We made our way across the open land of the ranch. I finally stopped crying after about an hour, but by that time I was completely lost. Comfort seemed to know where we were so I relaxed and let him wander. We had come to a small stream and he slowed, cautiously and nervously looking around. I heard a blood curdling scream come from my right and I turned to see a mountain lion perched on an outcropping of rock down the stream a ways. It had locked onto our position, and watched me with it's slitted yellow eyes. Comfort grew quite scared and took off at a full run away from the stream. We ran for what seemed like forever before we slowed to a walk, Comfort was covered in foam from his sweat. I patted his neck, "It's okay buddy. At least we have each other." He nickered, and picked his way back towards the flatter rangeland closer to the house. An hour later we rode within sight of the house and I saw an ATV make a bee line for me. As it drew close I could tell it was Lester, his face was a mix of relief and anger.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He yelled at me, hands waving in the air. "Why did you leave like that?"

I started to cry again, "I was so mad at Ranger and Evan. They were trying to control me, and I lost it." I looked around for the others. "Where are the guys? Where's Evan?" I wiped my tears away, as I turned searching in all directions.

"Looking for your dumbass. Our phones don't work out here, but Pop had some old radios. Let's let them know you're back." He rode next to me as I manouvered Comfort back to the horse barn. Pop met us just outside and held the bridle as I dismounted.

"Steph, Honey. Are you okay?" I nodded sullenly. "You go on and I'll take care of this guy." He patted Comfort on the neck.

I threw my arms around Pop's neck and hugged him tightly, "Thanks Pop. Sorry for scaring you like that."

"Honey, sometimes men don't think. We try to be strong, we try to protect what's ours. Both Ranger and Evan were just trying to make sure you're safe. Give them a chance to explain." I nodded and kissed his cheek. Leading Comfort away to his stall, he spoke to the horse, "Took good care of her big guy. You did real good." I smiled and turned walking back to Lester.

"Les? Can I talk to you?"

Sensing a problem, Les agreed. "Only after I radio the guys." We walked back to the bunk house and Les picked up the old military surplus handheld radio. "Base to E1. Come in E1."

"E1 here. Go ahead Base."

"Bomber recovered, return to Base. Repeat, Bomber recovered, return to Base."

"Copy that Base. Is she intact?"

"Affirmative E1. Bomber is intact."

"Returning to Base."

"Copy."

"Base to R2. Come in R2."

"R2 here. Go ahead Base."

"Return to Base. Bomber recovered intact. Repeat. Bomber recovered intact. Return to Base."

"Copy that Base. Returning to Base."

"Copy."

Sinking down onto one of the beds in the bunkhouse, I picked at my fingernails. "Les, I already know I'm going to get yelled at. Please don't yell at me too." I glanced up to meet his gaze. He knelt down at my feet, raised my chin with his finger and leaned in kissing me. His face stopped a hair's bredth away, his deep chocolate eyes searching mine, before he crushed his lips to mine. I sighed and leaned into it, he deeped the kiss wrapping his arms around me holding to him tightly. Before Evan, it would have knocked my socks off. But I knew that it was just a way for Lester to say goodbye to me, so his heart could let me be with Evan. After a minute I pulled back, breathing hard and put my head on his shoulder. We remained in that position for a few minutes before he spoke.

"Beautiful, I'm sorry for kissing you. I... I just felt like it was the only way I could know for sure that giving you up to Ram was the right thing." I hugged him closer. "I know that you two are meant for each other, and I'll never try it again."

"Les, I love you. You know that. I would give my life for yours. You're my best friend, and that kind of love can never be replaced. I have a special part of my heart just for you, and only you. You can kiss me, but only because you love me as my best friend. No tongue next time, got it?"

"Got it."

"Now are you going to help me or not?"

"With what?"

"To keep Evan from yelling at me, and Ranger from sending me to Siberia with nothing but a toothpick."

He snickered. "I can try." I lay down on the bed with my head resting in his lap. I accidentally bumped his chest with my arm turning onto my back, he winced in pain from his stitches, "Wimp." I whispered.

He laughed softly, "Hey be nice." I lay quietly in his lap waiting for the others to return.

"Hey, Les?"

"Yup."

"Thanks. I love you."

"I love you too Beautiful." I fell asleep as Les rubbed circle on my back with his fingers.

The sound of boots scuffing on the wooden floor woke me. I opened my eyes to see eight pairs of extremely angry eyes staring back at me. Startled, I scrambled backwards backing myself against the wall, reaching for something to defend myself. When I realized the eyes belonged to the guys I relaxed for a moment. When it finally registered in my brain that they were there to yell at me for running, I tensed back up again and swallowed hard. "Please don't yell at me!" I wailed and threw myself down onto the bed sobbing.

Evan came to my side, pulling me into an embrace. "Angel. I'm sorry. I'll never try to force you into anything you don't want to do, unless you are in iminant danger. You had me so worried. I thought the worst things when you left. Never leave me again, Please Angel." I weakly looked up into his eyes to see he was nearly in tears himself, sick with worry.

"I promise." I choked out.

"Angel. Where did you go?"

Shrugging, "I don't know. Comfort took me where he wanted. I was just along for the ride. We wandered around for a while, before we got to a stream with a rocky outcropping to one side. We hightailed it out of there after the mountain lion spotted us. We ran until Comfort couldn't run anymore. Then we came back here, where Les met us on the ATV."

Ranger stepped up to speak, but stopped when I held my hand up. "I'm sorry Ranger. I shouldn't have yelled at you." I sniffled fighting back more tears. "I know you're just trying to protect me, but you know how I am. Ask me to do something, don't tell me to. I'm sorry for putting you guys at risk again. I'm... I'm sor...sorr... sorry!" I started bawling again. Evan gently rubbed me on the back, as he kissed my temple repeatedly.

They had sat down on the floor and beds waiting for me to finish crying. They didn't look like they knew what to say or do, none of their bad ass military training prepared them for a emotionally unstable woman. I wiped my eyes and sniffled into the hankerchief Ranger handed me. "I know I'm a wreck. I'm sorry guys. I don't want you to be mad at me." I looked at the floor.

"Baby girl. We're not mad at you. If anything we're mad at ourselves for treating you like shit. We've been telling you what to do, instead of asking you. We're just men, plain old dumb as shit men." He patted my hand after kneeling down to me side. "Can you forgve us?" I nodded and we hugged each other. He lifted me up, arms still wrapped around me. He set me on my feet gently and kissed the side of my head, much to the chagrine of the other guys.

Justin walked up and hugged me, "I was getting ready to fire up the chopper to look for you. You want to come with us on the test flight?"

I looked to Ranger, "Only if Evan goes too." He nodded in agreement.

Inside the house Momma was bustling about the kitchen busy making lunch for a crowd. When she saw me walk in last, she gathered me in her arms and hugged me. "Darlin' did they make you cry?" She asked me as she glared at the guys. "You can have an whole pie with lunch."

The guys looked around to one another, before Evan said, "Momma, you're going to spoil her."

She gave Evan a look that could kill. "Evan Michael Ramsey! How dare you! Your future wife is upset and sad and you stand there trying to tell me not to spoil her?"

Tank snickered, before Momma turned her attention to him. "Pierre La Rouche! Don't make me call your Mama. You're in as much trouble as Evan is in." She turned to Ranger. "Ricardo Carlos Manoso. I'll be calling your Mama about this. I should box your ears for talking like that about my Darlin'. She is a strong and independant woman. You know better than to push her into anything she doesn't want to do."

I stopped and stared at Momma. My mouth had dropped open and I had an 'O shit!' look on my face. OMG! She just called Ranger by his full name and she was still alive. She is awsome!

"Thank you Darlin'."

I frowned, "I said it outloud didn't I?"

"Yes. That's okay Darlin'. Carlos knows he can't get anything by me. Don't you Carlos?"

"Yes Momma." He answered looking at me like I was dead meat.

"Now sit. All of you. Lunch is ready." Junior was the first at the table claiming his usual chair. I giggled and sat next to him, eyeing the pies sitting on the counter. Junior smiled at Evan and Justin, flipping them the bird as I settled my foot on the chair to the opposite side of him.

Evan growled and rolled his eyes. Justin slapped the back of Junior's head and grunted at him, "Jarhead!" Before he seated himself down at the table. I giggled, thinking that I was the luckiest girl in the world. Here I was surrounded by guys that I love. Not to mention some of the military's best and brightest.

Ranger looked at Junior and studied him. "Junior, I know I've heard your name mentioned to me before in my travels." I looked at Ranger, knowing it had to be from either his government contract handler or another member of a mission he participated in while_ in the wind_.

Junior turned to look at Ranger with a wary eye. "Yeah, and what have you heard about me?"

"That you didn't tell your family about MSOT." Junior stiffened as both Justin and Evan shouted together, "MSOT?" Evan's voice sounded strangled, "Junior, is there something you need to tell us?"

He sighed and glared at Ranger before giving in and softening, "Yea, he's right. I was MSOT. I didn't tell you because I didn't want Momma to worry."

Justin was mad, "What the hell man! Why didn't you tell us? I never saw anything on your uni."

"You wouldn't. I was ordered not to."

"You guys at MSOT are seriously wicked man." Les spoke up. 'I know you all got thrown into some pretty FUBAR'd situations in Iraq."

Junior nodded his head. "I know I was there. I took a round into my thigh outside of Fallujah. We completed our mission. That's all that counts." Ranger nodded his head, after surviving some of the situations he's been in he can appreciate the gravity of Junior's past mission.

Feeling really dumb for having to ask, "What's a MSOT?"

"MSOT is the Marine's equivalent to the Army's Rangers and the Navy's Seals. It stands for Marine Special Operations Team. Now it's called MEF, short for Marine Expeditionary Force."

Momma patted him on the shoulder, "Junior your father was part of an experimental group they put together in Vietnam when he was in the Corp. What he did was no different than what you did, what Evan does, or what these men do. I would have understood. I am stronger than you think."

"I'm sorry Momma, but I was ordered not to tell anyone. Least of all my family."

"So, of all the people here at this table Darlin' and I are the only ones not to have been in some type of special forces." She turned to me and I shook my head.

"No. Momma we all are." She gave me a puzzled look. "Both you and I belong to RWC. It takes a special breed to be able to join, and there have only been five to date."

Hal frowned trying to figure out the acronym. "Okay. I give. What does RWC stand for, Bomber?"

I piped up, "The Ramsey Wives Club. Evan can explain it to you at a later time. But the gist of it is, to be a member you have be the first to marry a Ramsey man of his generation. There have only been five up until now. We're about to add our sixth soon." I smiled at Momma and then at Evan. "So really, we're more elite than all you put together." I snickered. Sticking my tongue out I pulled a pie off of the counter and placedit in front of me.

"Angel."

"What?"

"A whole pie?"

"I earned it. Besides I need it after putting up with Lester molesting me last night in his sleep." I clapped my hands over my mouth realizing that I had spilled the beans about Les's latenight visit. Les smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"I got into your bed, huh?"

Evan nodded, "Yeah, you did." He gave a sexy growl at him. "Angel said you were cute when I picked your stupid injured ass up and carried you back to the couch. If I had my way I would have beat your ass, but Angel didn't want to hurt you. You're a lucky bastard, you know that?"

"Lucky enough to grind on your fiancee." Les teased.

"LESTER SANTOS! You better knock it off. Do you hear me?" Les stopped and stared at me, a slight flicker of fear crossed his face.

"Damn Beautiful! Have you been taking lessons from Momma?" I smiled at him and winked one of my bright blue eyes. "You have no idea."

Ranger leaned forward in his chair, "Justin. Are you about ready to take me on the test flight. I'd like to see what you can do."

"Yes, Sir." Justin nodded and rose out of his chair. "I'll prep the chopper, give me three minutes and I can have her ready to take off."

Evan looked to Ranger indicating with a nod of his head to me. "We'll meet you at the pad in 10. Steph is still eating her pie." I looked up from shoveling apple pie into my mouth, to look at the others staring at me. I smiled and returned to my pie. And all Evan could say was, "Angel."

Justin was finishing his preflight check, Ranger observing his every move. Riding Hal piggyback, I watched Evan and Ranger talking to each other in low voices. Satisfied with his inspection, Justin motioned for us to board the helo. Hal bounced a little more than necessary as he carried me from the backporch towards the pad. He pulled me around him and hung me upside down. I squeeled and tried to punch his leg, connecting with his knee we dropped like sacks of potatoes. "Ha, ha! Hal got dropped by a girl! AGAIN!" I teased. Hal blushed, jumped up and chased me around the yard trying to grab me. Knowing my ankle was still sore and that I should be taking it easy, he didn't try too hard. I was giggling and dodging Hal when Cal came up behind me, scooped me up and hauled me over his shoulder. With his large hand splayed wide open, Evan slapped me on the ass, "Looks like someone got caught."

"Ouch! You're supposed to help me, not them. Traitor!"

Evan grinned, taking me from Cal's shoulder setting me on the ground. "Come on Angel, it's time to fly."

"Oh, Boy!" I half ran half hobbled over to the helo and jumped in. Stunned, Ranger and the guys froze. They watched in silence as I fastened my belt and donned my helmet. I glanced up and realised they were all staring at me. "What?"

"Babe. Since when do you fly?" Ranger had raised an eyebrow, giving me as much of a puzzled look as his nearly blank face could give.

"I like to fly." I said, matter of factly, before I added, "As long as Justin is the pilot. He's awesome!" Justin turned to grin at me, winked and turned back to Ranger.

"All ready for takeoff, Sir. I thought we'd head stright to the lake, follow along the stream to the east side of the property and then swing around the backside. There's a cluster of trees I can use as pylons. Then we can do hovers and banking on the way back."

Ranger nodded once and barked, "Start her up."

"Sir. Yes, Sir."

The roar of the engine as it came to life excited me. I looked over to Cal, Hal and Evan who were sitting in the rear passenger area with me. They all looked indifferent to the experience of flying in a helo, but for me it was exhilerating. I fidgited waiting for the helo to warm up and take off. We slowly rose and Justin rotated us towards the prarie beyond the house and took off. He skimmed the helo some 15 feet above the ground towards the hills in the distance, rising and falling with the terrain. As we neared the lake, Evan perked up and pointed with his finger towards the water. "Some of the best fishing on the property, right there in those waters." Both Hal and Cal smiled, they loved fishing and would love to take the opportunity to drag Evan back to try their hands at catching 'the big one'.

Justin flew over the lake slowing to hover, he lowered the helo just enough so the front tips of the skids touched the edge of the water where it met the bank. He held it for a moment and then rose skyward at a fast clip. We banked to the right and dropped down to follow the stream that flowed out of the lake. We swung back and forth as Justin followed the curves of the fast flowing stream. When he ascended again I could see the rocky outcropping I recognized from that morning's ride with Comfort. I tapped Evan on the shoulder hard and pointed down to the area where Comfort had come to the stream to drink. "That's where I saw the mountain lion this morning. It was standing on those rocks there." I pointed to the rocks jutting up at the edge of the stream. Upon hearing that, Justin flew back around to get a better look at the area I had indicated.

"Sorry Gentlemen, but I need to know where Steph saw that cat. It's already killed almost a dozen of our cattle this season." Ranger nodded and shifted his eyes to survey the area himself. We all searched from our vantage point finding nothing, until I caught a flash of red against a boulder to our right.

"Hey, there's blood!" I gestured to the spot, Justin came about and gently set us down about 25 yards from the spot. He powered down the engine and we climbed out to search for the blood. Ranger, Evan, Hal and Cal all had their sidearms out and in the ready position. Justin had the rifle slung over his shoulder, and as usual I was relying on the guys to bring the firepower. Ranger veered over to his left and indicated with his head to the carcas of a half eaten elk. I blanched at the sight of it's empty abdominal cavity, and mostly eaten neck. "Ewww. That's so gross!" I made a face, showing I was disgusted.

"Babe." Ranger laughed quietly.

"Angel. It's the circle of life. In this part of the world, you either eat dinner or you are dinner." Evan explained pointing to the carcas.

Just then Hal stiffened, Cal turned to look behind him, and then all hell broke loose. Goosepimples rose on my skin when a familiar feline scream pierced tha air. In a split second, I was shoved behind Evan. The guys had their sidearms beaded on the large cat that stood not 15 feet from us, snarling and hissing at us. Justin raised the rifle flicked the safety off and aimed for the large cat. It crouched, it's tail twitching, sweeping it's eye from the elk, over to us and back to the elk again.

Slowly backing up I tried to make it to the safety of the helo, but catching my heel on a large branch, I fell backwards with a scream. The big cat reacted and leapt towards me. As it flew through the air headed no doubt to kill me, I heard multiple shots and I closed my eyes expecting to be mauled to death. Hearing a soft thud, I felt a warm lump come to rest against my leg. I cautiously opened one eye and then the other, realizing I wasn't dead or in pain. I moved my head down and saw the cat lay dead on the ground, laying against my right leg. I scrambled up and away from the cat as fast as my little legs could carry me. Ranger bent down at the cat's head, took his knife from it's sheith and made a quick and simple slice to it's jugular, ensuring that it was dead. He stood, wiped the cat's blood onto the leg of his cargos and returned his knife to it's sheith. I fell into Evan's warm and secure arms, turning my head away from the dead cat in front of me. "It's alright Angel. Ranger made sure it's dead." I nodded into his chest, keeping my eyes closed. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm just so stupid for falling. If I hadn't it would probably still be alive." A lone tear streaked down my cheek and spotted the front of Evan's shirt.

"Circle of life. Remember?"

"Yeah, I know." I climbed back into the helo, and strapped myself in. The guys soon followed, after wrapping the cat in a tarp and strapped it into the rear cargo area. "How come it has to come with us?" I asked, sad that it had lost it's life.

"I have to notify Fish and Game when we get back to the house. They will want to know about what happened." Justin explained as he powered up the rotors. "Don't worry Steph, I'll take care of it. I know the local Warden, he'll believe me when I tell him what happened." Trusting Justin I nodded and leaned against Evan for strength.

After taking off and hovering above the stream for a moment, Justin asked Ranger,"You ready to get this show back on the road, Sir?"

Evan piped up, "Justin. Open this mother up and show him what you can really do." Both Evan and Justin smiled as he leaned heavily on the joystick and we took off like a bat out of hell. We screamed forward and before too long we came to a bunch of trees spaced pretty evenly from left to right. He swung back around to the first tree and began to swing up back and forth through the trees in a slalom pattern. He banked so hard from side to side we were at a 45 degree angle or greater when he swung back the other way dodging a tree trunk in the process. I was laughing histerically and begging for more when he finished.

"Babe. You like this?" Ranger smiled at me winking.

"MORE!" I giggled and hugged Evan. "I'm so glad you let me come along Baby. This is great!"

"Just wait Angel." He narrowed his eyes and yelled at Justin through the headset. "Now!" And before I knew it Justin had rocketed forward and turned us in a barrell roll to the right, and then when we had leveled out, he rolled us back the other way. We leveled out again and we dropped a good two hundred feet and banked sharply to our left. He pulled up and hovered for a moment, we then dropped down to the top of a tall lanky pine tree. Evan slid the door open, leaned out, plucked a pinecone off of the upper branch of the tree, handed it to me, and slid the door shut.

Justin rose above the trees and we flew away to the open prairie. Evan unbuckled his belt and pulled out a harness and carabener clips. He pulled on the harness, fitting it snuggly around him after securing it. He pulled a rapelling rope out from under his seat, and attatched it to the side of the helo. Ranger watched with obvious interest. Evan secured his harness to the rope using a complicated rope and knot system as well as a carabener, slid the door open, and flung the coiled end of the rope out the door. I shrieked, terrified that Evan would fall. "Angel it's okay. I do this all the time. Justin won't let anything happen to me, I promise." He kissed me deeply before he leaned back out of the door and dropped down quickly. Screaming, I leaned out of the door, horrified that Evan had fallen to his death. Stunned, I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched Evan stop a quarter of the way down the rope. He had wrapped the rope around an ankle and between his feet and hung on as Justin continued to fly forwards. It was as if Evan was flying by himself. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Whoo hoo! Yeah!" He rode that way until we neared the house and the helo pad.

Approaching the pad, Evan suddenly loosened his feet and allowed himself to flip upside down. Justin hovered over the helo pad just low enough that the end of the 200 foot rope was touching the ground. Evan then crossed his feet trapping the line between his ankles, released his hands and slid down the rope slowly head first. I sat there in my seat flabergasted, totally in awe of his ariel display. Nearing the ground, he shifted his weight and flipped right side up just before his feet touched. He unclipped himself from the chopper, grabbed the rope and looped it around his arm as we landed. I tore off my helmet and ripped myself out of my seatbelt, only to hurl myself into Evan's arms. I was so turned on, I was shaking from need. I wanted him. NO! I needed him! I kissed him for all I was worth. My arms wrapped around his neck drawing him closer to me, my lips crushing his. I thrust my tongue into his open and welcoming mouth. We dueled for a few minutes, before I realized that the roaring in my ears wasn't from the helo, it was from the blood rushing in my ears. I pulled back and placed my mouth near the shell of his ear. "Oh, God Evan. That was so hot. You have no idea!"

He turned his face to mine, "Angel, _YOU_ have no idea." He drew my body closer against him, it was then that I felt the rock hard lump in his cargos. Realising I was staring at his crotch, I quickly looked up, simultaneously smiling and blushing.

"Think you can teach me to rappel like that?"

"HELL NO!" Evan shook his head wildly. He then smiled sweetly, lowered his voice, and whispered into my ear. "If Tank doesn't show you, then I guess I can."

I kissed his neck and ran into Tanks arms. "Tank?" I smiled my sweetest smile and batted my lashes.

"Oh Shit!" Tank looked trapped, his eyes darted from Ranger, to Evan and back to me. "Baby girl. What is it that you want this time?" He cringed in anticipation of my request.

"Tank. I want you to teach me how to rappel. I want to learn inverted rappels, and I want to learn how to do running rappels and..."

"One thing at a time Baby girl. We'll start you off by learning the equipment and knots. But you'll have to wait until we get back to Rangeman."

My face scrunched up in a thinking pose, I tried to decide if I wanted to wait or not. "Babe. It can wait."

Pouting my bottom lip out a little way, "Okay." I answered Ranger, drawing out the last sylable.

Ranger focused his attention back to Justin who had finally dismounted from the helo. Holding his hand out to Justin, Ranger shook his hand, and told him flatly, "Congratulations. You start two weeks from today." Justin lit up like a christmas tree. His smile was so warm and happy. The guys slapped him on his back in congratulations. "Talk to Tank, he'll get you all set up with the paperwork before then." Ranger stopped assumed his normal blank face and looked him in the eye, "Welcome to the Rangeman family. See you in Trenton."

Justin donned his blank face, and responded, "Sir. Thank you, Sir."

We all gathered in the kitchen drinking beers, as Justin recounted the incident with the mountain lion to the local game Warden on the phone. Ranger leaned back in his chair, ankles crossed arms behind his head. "Babe. You ready to head back to Trenton tonight?"

I picked at the label on my beer bottle not wanting to think about having to leave. "No."

Smiling, Ranger asked, "You're falling in love with this place aren't you. With Ram's family?"

I blew out a long breath, looked up at him and before I could stop it, a lone tear streaked down my cheek. Clearing my throat, I choked out, "Yeah. I love it here, it's going to be really hard when we leave. Momma and Pop have been great. Justin and Junior are now my brothers." I chugged the remainder of the cool amber liquid, and slid the bottle back and forth between my hands.

Evan scooted his chair over next to mine. "Angel. We can always come back. We don't have to stay away for long." He massaged my back, kneading the soreness out of my muscles. He knew to butter me up with a relaxing massage to get me to agree with him. I nodded and indicated for him to continue his assault on my muscles with his magic fingers. When Evan applied pressure to a particular spot on my back, I moaned loudly, drawing the attention of all the guys around the table.

"Dios, Babe! Don't do that!" Ranger cringed, trying not to react to my moan.

I opened my eyes to see every man in the room shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Smiling inwardly, I frowned and asked Ranger, "You mean don't do this?" And I moaned again louder and breathier.

Evan groaned and gently grabbed the back of my neck, "Angel. Stop or I will be forced to fight off every man in this room." I smiled slyly and observed all the guys nodding in agreement.

"Beautiful, that's one of the meanest thing you ever did." Lester ground out from between gritted teeth.

I shook my head vigorously, "No it's not." I donned a wicked grin. "Remember when your tests came back from the doctor's office saying you had a VD last year?"

Lester stood up and started to creep towards me. "Beautiful? What did you do?" Feeling like I was in danger from a Lester Santos Special, namely a spanking, I quickly jumped up and hobbled around to the opposite side of the table from Les.

"I, uh..." I was stalling, trying to find a way out of the mess I had just put myself into.

"Spit it out already." The look of pure malice covered his face. "What did you do?"

I moved slowly in the opposite direction that Les moved, keeping the table between us as a buffer. "I,uh... I got a hold of your results first. They were faxed in to the wrong number at the office. Mine. So, I did a little doctoring of my own. You never had a VD. I changed the results to positive. The results you got were fake."

"WHAT?" Les shouted and tried to reach for me over the table.

"LES your stitches! Be careful!" I tried to calm him, but it was having little effect.

"I had to get a shot. Do you want to guess where?" Les pointed to his groin area. "And it wasn't from a pretty nurse either! It was Brown!" He pointed to Bobby, who nodded and shuddered. I started to snort from laughter. Lester was pissed! "WHY? Why would you do such a thing?"

I stopped laughing, and stood my ground. "Let's see... You glued my car doors shut. You completely covered my apartment in blown up condom balloons. You put blue hair dye in my shampoo. You had a CASE of female anti-itch cream delivered to my desk at Rangeman in front of everyone. You constantly mess with my coffee. And the last straw was when YOU ATE MY LAST TASTYCAKE I HAD STASHED IN MY DESK! YOU DON"T MESS WITH MY TASTYCAKES LESTER SANTOS!" By the end I was yelling at him in full blown rhino-mode. In my book, a woman's Tastycakes are sacred, and you don't mess with anything a woman finds sacred.

The room was silent, the guys all focused on Les. Ranger narrowed his eyes, "Santos. Did you eat her last Tastycake?"

Lester tried to look strong, but under Ranger's wilting gaze he caved. He whined, "But I was hungry! And she's not supposed to have it in her desk. And the other's were just pranks. I didn't mean anything bad by them." He bowed his head in shame.

"Lester, do you know why I keep them in my desk?" I asked, my voice low and calm.

"So you can torture us with your moaning when you eat them?" He retorted sarcasticly.

"No, it for when I'm..." I stopped dead in my tracks. What I was about to say should never be said as the only female in a room full of bad ass men. But when I have my period, I need my Tastycakes. "For when I have a visitor." I raised my eyebrows hoping he'd catch on. "You know the monthly kind." The look of recognition finally crossed his face a moment later, and then the look of disgust.

"Eww! I so did not need to know that about you." He shuddered. The guys all cringed at the thought.

Rolling my eyes, I shot back at him. "See, I can be just as devious as you can Lester."

"Angel. You're one evil woman." Evan chuckled, slapping Les on the shoulder. "Looks like she got you good Santos."

"I'm not as evil as Joyce! She's an evil bitch." Evan's face lit up as he remembered our exchange with Joyce in the airport.

"Bet she's not having as good as a time here in Montana as you are, Angel."

Cal dropped his beer bottle onto the table, Hal's mouth hung open and Tank blinked twice before he asked, "She's here in Montana? What the fuck?"

I suppressed a grin and innocently asked Tank, "What's the matter? You're not afraid of 'Joyce the Skank' are you Tank?"

"She gives me the willies." He shuddered and shook his head trying to rid himself of the vision of Joyce in his head. "Step too close and your dick falls off. No thank you!"

"When we were waiting for our flight here, she was waiting to board the same flight. She came over trying to be all big and bad, but I put her in her place. Too bad you missed it."

Evan's huge grin said it all, he turned to Ranger. "Ranger, you should have seen it! Joyce called Angel the Rangeman Whore!" Ranger and the guys growled in displeasure. "Angel told her that she wouldn't let any Rangeman touch her nasty diseased ass, and that she was a cesspool of disease and filth. It was great!"

"I wouldn't want your dicks to fall off. That would be a great injustice to the ladies in Trenton." I joked.

Cal picked me up in his massive arms and hugged me. "Aww, Bomber. I didn't know you cared about our manhoods so much."

Feeling naughty I answered back, "I don't really. But I'm sure Les does. I heard he's softened on the whole man-touching thing lately."

"Son of a bitch! Beautiful, now you're going to get it!" Les afixed a wicked grin on his face and he advanced on me anew while I was still trapped in Cal's arms. Lester reached us and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Struggling against Cal was futile, he held on to me with a vice like grip. With little effort, he flung me over his shoulder, exposing my backside to it's inevitable fate. "You're in for it now Beautiful!" He laughed manically, and had a wild look in his eyes. I shrieked and flung my arms and legs about trying to fend him off. It did no good.

_SLAP! _"OUCH! Lester stop!" _SLAP! _"Les please!" _SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! _ I was hanging limp on Cal's shoulder by this point. The feeling of stinging pain covered my backside. I whimpered, "Les please. You're my best friend." He stopped with his hand in midair.

"I want you to say it." He whispered in my ear.

"Say what?" He raised his hand again, "SAY WHAT LES?"

"That you're my bitch." He stated simply, crossing his arms, smiling. He turned to the guys, "Say, you're my bitch."

"Les, you can't make me..." _SLAP! _"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! Okay! Okay! I'll say it." I shouted.

"Say what?" He asked gently.

I gulped, looking at all the guys laughing and enjoying themselves. Ooooh, I am so getting even with all of them. I looked desperately to Evan for help. "Angel, you got yourself into this mess. You better do as the man says." I gave him my best Berg glare, but it seemed to have no effect. I was mad as hell, and I was going to get even with Les.

I mumbled, "I'mLestersbitch."

"What was that Beautiful? I'm sorry, We didn't hear you."

"You heard me, Les."

"Say it louder. I want to hear it." He was grinning. "I want you to tell us loud and clear."

"I am Lester Santos's bitch!" I scowled. "There I said it. Now put me down Cal."

"Sorry Bomber. I can't do that." Cal appologized. "Ram told me not to."

"WHAT?" I screamed and twisted myself around to look at Evan. "Why? What did I do to you? I didn't pull any pranks on you." I whined.

"Angel, we..." His hand swept the room indicating that they were as a group about to tell me something. "We, aren't going home tonight."

"Oh thank GOD!" I sighed. I was relieved at that revelation. "How much longer do we get to stay?"

Evan lowered me off of Cal's shoulder and set my feet on the table. Standing above all the guys I surveyed the room. I could see them all holding back laughter and smiles. The only one that was any good at it was Ranger and even he was having difficulty keeping his blank face in place. "Angel. We are flying out tomorrow night at 2200."

"Why so late?"

"Justin is flying us back to Trenton in a Chinook that Ranger bought last month. We plan on making the most of the rest of today and tomorrow. We all have to get back to Trenton."

Happy we were staying another day, I walked to the opposite end of the table from the guys and did a little happy dance. My ankle gave out and I came crashing down onto the floor with an 'omphf'. The guys lurched forwards trying to catch me, but were too slow. "Ouch!" I held my ankle and winced. Bobby was at my side in a flash.

"Bomber lets take it easy on your ankle, okay? Ram, pick her up and put her into a chair. I'll grab my bag." Evan carefully lifted me into a chair and sat opposite me cradling my foot in his lap.

"Angel, You're going to be the death of me. But I'll love you until the day I die, and then some." He leaned over and kissed my leg.

Bobby returned a moment later carrying his medic bag. "Bomber, vacation or not, I always bring my bag."

"I'm alright Bobby. I just moved the wrong way. I'll be fine."

"I know you're okay, I just want to be sure. Can you humor me, please?"

"Fine." I allowed Bobby to give my leg and ankle a once over. When he was done he pronounced me a little sore, but that I'd live. Tank stood behind me placing his massive hands on my shoulders. I leaned my head back, leaning it against his stomach, looking up. "Hi, big guy."

"Hey, Babygirl. You gotta stop hurtin' yourself. How are you going to chase your skips like this?"

Thinking for a moment, I answered, "I can't. I'm going to be stuck on desk duty for a while aren't I?" I turned to Bobby, who nodded and held up 2 fingers. "Two weeks?"

"Bomber, you have to let your ankle mend. At least you'll have Les to keep you company. Unless you make a miraclulous recovery, it's going to be two weeks."

Lester smiled and wrapped his arms around me careful not to pull at his stitches. "Beautiful, while your man is out helping Ranger save the world, you'll be mine all day long." I hugged him back gently.

"Lester Santos. Just stay out of my Tastycakes."

"Ma'am. Yes, Ma'am." Les said kissing the top of my head.

The guys decided to give Momma the night off from preparing supper, and offered to cook for her. Momma happily agreed, she and I flipped through bridal magazines she had picked up from the bookstore a few towns over earlier this afternoon. We were discussing where we could hold the ceremony, when Hal settled himself into a chair next to me to shuck ears of corn for supper. He listened intently for a few minutes before offering and suggestion, "Bomber, I know it's going to be December when you get married in Trenton, but why not have a small ceremony here earlier in the fall? There's less of a chance for deep snow and storms, and you do love halloween."

I brightened, and bounced with excitment. I loved the idea of having the ceremony here in Powderville earlier than Trenton. My mother would have less of an influence here and I could have the smaller ceremony that I wanted. "Momma, what do you think?"

"Well, we could have it in the large barn. We could move all the equipment out into the far pasture and clean it up inside. It would be the perfect time, too. Harvesting will be done, the cattle will have been sent off to market, and it's when we usually let our hair down and relax for a little while. Let's see what Pop has to say." I nodded and she walked over to the CB, calling out to Pop. When we came on, she asked for him to come back to the house. She retuned to her seat and gave Hal a big grin, "Thank you Halton. I love the idea of a barn wedding."

The door swept open and Pop walked in, slamming it behind him. "Momma, what's so damn important that you have to interupt me fixing the thesher?"

"We," waving her hand between herself and I, "want to know if we could have the wedding in the big barn? What do you think Pop?"

Pop smiled and then spoke, "I like that idea. Have you asked Evan yet?"

I shook my head. "I guess I better do it right now." I rose and hobbled out the back door to where the guys were loosely clustered around the huge bar-b-que. On the backporch, I found Evan sitting on the railing with his back against a post. He raised his gaze to me and smiled.

"Hey, Angel. You and momma talking turkey?"

"Yeah, wedding stuff. Baby, I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"What would you say if I told we have an opportunity to get married here at the ranch in October?" Evan almost fell off of the railing he was sitting on.

"You want to get married here?" He grabbed my arms looking in my eyes. "In October? Angel, that's only in two months!"

"I know." I fiddled with my fingers. "Hal suggested it. We think it would be too cold and have too much snow for a December wedding here."

"Angel!" Evan picked me up and swung me around in circles hugging me to him. "I think it's a great idea. I can't think of a better place for us to be married." He was all smiles, and giving me a searing kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck holding him closer to me as his lips crushed against mine. As his arms wrapped around me, my knees felt weak, the flutterings in my stomach made me giddy. He pulled away, placing his forehead against mine.

Releasing me from his embrace, I walked up to Ranger. I leaned against him and quietly talked to him, "Batman, I need some help."

'Babe." His one eyebrow raised, "What do you need?"

"Can you help me ask my boss for vacation time for myself, Evan, and a few of the guys?"

He teased, "I don't know? He's such a hard ass." He softened and hugged me close to him with one arm. "When do we need to take time off?"

"October."

"Why October?"

"So I can get married here on the ranch." I leaned my head against his well muscled shoulder. "I want you here. I won't get married unless you're here, Carlos." I squeezed his hand in mine. "Please tell me you'll be here."

"Babe. I'll be here."

"Love you."

"I love you too Quierda."

The guys laid platters of steaks, roast corn, warmed bread and a huge bowl of green salad on the table. We all bowed our heads joined hands as Pop said grace. Amen's abounded around the table as we dug in. Happy in seeing the guys relaxed and enjoying themselves, I sat back and watched them laugh and joke around. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world, I had the love of my life, and the best friends a girl could ask for. Smalling the food proved too tempting and soon joined the rest in scarffing some serious food. After clearing the table, we sat back and sipped cups of coffee. Evan was staring into space, lost in thought. He stopped tapping his finger on the table absentmindedly, when he focused in on my face. "Angel. How are we going to tell your mother you're getting married here first?"

Tank shook his head, "You know how she can be so damn pushy."

Momma patted my hand, "Darlin' I will help you in any way I can with her, if you need it. And if I start to get too pushy, let me know, I'll back off Darlin'."

"Yes, Momma. I think I will need help with my mother. She is pushy, overbearing and stubborn."

Ranger rolled his eyes, and muttered, "I wonder who takes after her?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I'm just borrowing them. I do not profit from this work.**

**Chapter 20**

Climbing the stairs to our room, Evan was nuzzling my neck. We walked in and found Lester snuggled under the covers on the couch watching us. "Mommy, Daddy, can you tuck me in?" He teased.

"Good Lord Lester!" I sighed. "Are you really going to stay in our room tonight?"

"Yup. Gotta make sure you're not doing the nasty under Momma's roof." His deep baritone laugh echoed off the walls. "She's kill me if I let you do that here. She made me the Nookie Monitor."

I giggled, "Nookie Monster is more like it."

"Hey, I resemble that remark!" He turned onto his side facing the couch, snuggled further down under the covers and closed his eyes.

We changed into our pajamas and climbed into bed. Scooting over to spoon with Evan, I whispered into his ear, "Good night Baby."

"Goodnight Angel." He turned me slightly to have better access to my lips. He brushed his against mine and sent flickers of flames spreading throughout my body. Oh God! I needed him, badly! He deeped the kiss probing with his tongue until it touched mine. They dueled as my breathing bacame ragged and choppy.

As I was reaching over to flick Evan's nipples with my fingers, a lone voice filled the room, "Hey, knock that off. Momma's gonna kick my ass first and then yours!" We pulled ourselves apart and I felt like I was on fire. My whole body ached, desperate to have Evan inside me. God, if this is what having blue balls is like, I swear I will never do it to Evan ever! This sucks. I grumbled and jumped out of bed. Tiptoeing over to Les I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodnight Lester. If you stop Evan and I again, while we're here, when we get better, I'm going to kick your ass on the mats. Ask Hector, I kicked his ass, and that was pulling punches. I won't pull punches with you. Got it?" I threatened.

"Got it. G'night Beautiful."

Waking up to the feeling of a warm hand kneading my breast was quite nice. A quiet sigh escaped me before Evan's lips covered mine. I opened my lips slightly sliding my tongue out to run along his lower lip. A soft muffled moan pierced the quiet of the room, and I froze. Evan kissed up my jawline to my ear, nibbling my earlobe, he whispered, "Les in asleep on the couch downstairs. He couldn't get comfortable on the one in here. Don't worry Angel, we're all alone." I turned completely onto my back and snaked my arms around his neck.

"Alone, alone?"

"All alone, Angel. Please, I need to make love to you." The huskiness of his voice made me quiver with need. "I want to feel you cum, I want to cum in you."

I nodded, smiling and pulled his head back to mine. We licked, nibbled and kissed each other into a near frenzy. I tugged his shirt over his head to reveal the broad expanse of his bronzed chest deviod of any hair. I bent my head to lick the valley between his well defined pecs. He hissed and leaned his head back, enjoying the feeling of my tongue on his skin. I flicked my tongue across a taut nipple, then drew it into my mouth suckling it into a tight bud. Switching to the other side of his chest, I gently nibbled the other, it drew into a hard peak in my mouth. I ran my tongue down the center of his chest to his belly button. My tongue dipped in slightly, which garnered a husky laugh from deep in his chest. I continued the same line down to the waistband of his boxers. "Off. Now." I ordered, tugging at his remaining clothing.

Evan kicked the covers off the bed and removed the offending cotton boxers. kneeling, I sat back onto my heels and took in the sight of his magnificent body. I smiled, moved between his legs and leaned down to place a kiss on the head of his huge erection. He sighed and closed his eyes. I used my tongue to swirl around the tip, tasting the drop of dewy goodness that pulsed from the tip. "Oh, God." He hissed, "Please, Angel." He begged me to suck him. My lips parted as I took him into my mouth. I lowered my head and felt the entire length of him slide in. He tensed then relaxed loving the feeling of being inside my mouth. I began to suckle and swirl my tongue as I bobbed up and down on his hard shaft. Blindly grasping at anything within reach on the bed, I knew he was in heaven. His head turned from side to side, while he murmured, "Angel. Oh, God. Angel." I palmed his balls with one of my hands, gently kneading them, for I knew he loved the way it felt. His breathing became harsh and ragged, his words became frantic, "Angel! Oh God, I'm going to cum!" Roughly sqeezing his balls when I felt them contract, sent him over the edge. "GOD! ANGEL!" He nearly sat up with the force of his release, shuddering and panting he twitched on the bed. I swallowed his seed, using the back of my hand I wiped a little drop off of my lips. He lay there like a big pile of goo for a few minutes, before he was able to speak. "You are in soooo much trouble young lady!" He sat up and flipped me onto my back.

He tore the t-shirt from my body, throwing the tattered remains onto the floor next to the bed. He lowered his head and used his mouth to tease and taunt my nipple into hard sensitive peaks. Blowing across a warm wet nipple sent shivers down my spine and made me suck in a breath. His hands roamed over my body, as he kissed my neck. He drew the pulse point at the junction of my neck into his mouth and nibbled. I sighed and felt the flicker of flames ingite into a roaring inferno, I was totally turned on and ready for him. He bit down hard making me wince but I loved it. I wanted him even more, I needed to feel him take me. I need him, now! "Baby. I need you."

"Need me to what?" He whispered, teasing me. He ripped my thong panties to shreds, with nothing left but tiny scraps of useless lace.

"I need you in me. Now!" He slid a finger down to my center. He flicked a fingertip over my clit, nearly sending me over the edge. I whimpered, wanting more. His finger then slid down and then back again across my amazingly wet slit. Smiling, he moved his head between my thighs spreading them wider. His tongue snaked out and caught my clit, I sucked in a massive breath at the wonderful feeling. He laughed softly and moved his tongue in slow circles around my clit, then across it, sending shockwaves of pleasure to ripple through me. Inserting a finger into my center made me want to cry from relief. His tongue circled and his finger slid in and out slowly bringing me to the very edge before backing off a little. Shaking with need, and tears streaming down my face I begged Evan to let me fall over the edge. "Evan please! Make me cum. I need to cum!" His breathy laugh made me quiver. He raised up and moved over me, positioning the tip of his hard shaft at my entrance.

Capturing my mouth with his, he thrust himself forward seating himself to the hilt. He groaned with pleasure, and I gasped loving the feeling of sheathing him fully. He paused a moment, so my body could stretch to accomodate his huge erection. I squirmed, wanting him to thrust again. He kissed me, our tongues dueling, until he drew back slowly and thrust again hard. I closed my eyes and savored the feeling of him filling me. He began to draw his hips back and forth, I could feel him hit my G-spot over and over and over. I was close to cumming, and he knew it. I began to clamp down around him, pulling him in deeper. He started to grunt with massive effort as he pounded into me as hard as he could. His hands gripped my shoulders pushing me back onto his hard shaft every time he thrust, I was wild with desire. I raked my fingernails across his back, avoiding his tender spots, leaving claw marks trailing down. I neared the edge, and he flipped onto his back taking me with him. His hands held my hips, guiding me and pulling me back onto him as his hips bucked up and down rhythmically. I opened my eyes to stare at him, watching his face as he neared his own release. His movements became frantic and hard just before he crested his peak. He released a deep animalistic groan as he filled me with his seed. As he pulled me down hard onto his pulsing shaft, I fell over my edge, cumming with such force I shook like a rag doll. I bucked my hips a few times sending additional waves of pleasure racing over both of us. I know I wasn't quiet when I came. I bit my lip trying to stay quiet, but failed when high pitched moaning passed through my lips. I shuddered and slumped down onto his chest, his hard erection still inside me. I looked into his eyes, before he kissed me deeply. The last conscious thought I had prior to passing out was, "Oh, God. I love him so much!" Stars filled my field of vision and soon the blackness overtook me.

Turning over to see the clock read 0432, made me groan. I didn't want to get up. I was tired and still sore from Evan and my love making a few hours before. But I knew the guys would be downstairs warming up for their morning run. I poked Evan awake, "Baby. It's 0432. Better get up for our run."

"Our run? You can't run on your ankle."

"Watch me." I turned to gather up the shreds of my tshirt and panties, before I grabbed my clothing to dress. Evan placed a hand on my arm to stop me. "What?"

"Angel. You can't run. You'll hurt yourself again." He shook his head.

"Evan. Les will be following on the quad. If I feel I can't do anymore or if I feel sore I'll stop. Les can give me a ride on the back. Okay?"

"You are a stubborn woman. Is there anything I can do to convince you not to run?" He asked as he pulled me close to him, his lips brushed against mine.

"No. I need to do this. I need to show myself and you all I can handle being hurt like you do. Tough through it."

"Bobby's going to have a fit!"

"He'll live. And Ranger can kiss my ass if he thinks he can order me around while I'm on vacation."

"Angel!" Evan laughed. I finished dressing, wrapped my ankle with a compression bandage and pulled on my shoes. I made it into the kitchen before anyone else, and dranka half cup of coffee, before I went outside to stretch. My ankle was still tender, but it amazingly felt a lot better than it had. I worked on stretching it more, and glanced up to see Tank coming my way.

"Baby girl, What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Going on my morning run."

"I don't think so!"

"Oh, really?" I stood with my hands on my hips, as I glared at him. I noticed all the other guys had gathered outside and watched the spectacle of the Tank and Stephanie Show. "Because, I thought I made it perfectly clear yesterday, that I wasn't going to be told what to do. You know that!" I turned my back to him. "Even hurt I'd still be able to kick your ass on the road, Big Guy."

"I don't know. You should be resting your ankle. Bobby should give you teh okay first before you run."

I spun around to face Bobby. "Bobby. I'm going to run today. Got a problem with that?" I asked peeved.

"As long as Les can follow you on the quad." He looked me in the eyes. "If you get hurt, get sore or feel tired I want you to catcha ride with Lester. Okay?"

"Sure. At least someone will be able to keep up." I taunted at Evan and Justin.

"Hey, no one said it was a race, Steph. Besides you have less on your body to carry than Evan and I do." Justin retorted.

"You're just slow. Tank is slow. Evan is slow. You're all slow. Damn." I shook my head as I bounced from one foot to the other. "And to think you all couldn't get me to run without the promise of doughnuts when you first met me." I stuck my tongue out at Ranger. "You! Mr. Manoso! You dragged my ass out of bed and made me run. I hated it, and now look at me. I get up before Evan does and I'm the one dragging his ass to go run. Go figure!"

"Babe." He raised an eyebrow, "Are you going to run or are you going to bump your gums?"

I turned and we ran as a group towards the gate at the end of the road. Before too long, I grew tired of their slow pace and surged forward hitting a near normal pace. I heard Les behind me on the quad, following me as Ranger instructed. By the time I hit the gate and turned around, The guys were nowhere to be seen, and Lester laughed. "Damn Beautiful. Even when you're hurt you still kick their asses. Atta' girl. Are you feelin' tired or sore yet?"

I shook my head, breathing deeply, I shook my arms and legs out for a moment before resuming my run. "Get your ass in gear Santos!" I called behind me as I hit my stride. I first passed Ranger and Junior about a quarter of the way back. Ranger's suprise showed on his face. He shouted as I approached, "Santos. She make it all the way to the gate?"

Lester yelled back, "She's fast. Even hurt, she's fast!" I passed by them sticking my tongue out in defiance.

I next passed the remainder of the group a little before I hit the halfway point. I yelled at them, "Catch you on the flip side!" as I ran past. I could see Tank frown as we ran past each other, and Les laugh from behind me. I focused and mentally placed myself back into my 'zone' and finished my run back to the house. Before Les turned off the quad, I told him, "Let's run back to the guys. I don't think i'm done with my run yet. I feel too good to stop just yet."

Les looked at me like I had grown two heads. "Are you sure?"

"Let's go." And I headed back down the road again. We caught up with Ranger and Junior at the halfway point. I slowed to a walk and placed my arms over my head drawing in deep controlled breaths. Both Ranger and Junior did the same walking up to me. While we waited the 7 minutes for the others to catch up, we chatted. "Ranger?"

"Hmm?" He turned his head to meet my gaze.

"Did you hear anything from Morelli before you came?" I asked nervously. "I didn't want to ask in front of Evan."

"Understandable. We got word from an informant that he's been laying low, and trying to stay off of the Chief's radar. You have nothing to worry about Quierda."

I stopped and looked at him seriously. "Ranger how come you still call me that? Quireda, I mean."

"Because you still are 'my love' to me." He ignored the fact that Junior and Les were listening to every word he said, as he continued. "It doesn't matter that you love Ram and he love's you. You will still be the love of my life, that will never change. You know that I can't do traditional relationships, and you know why. But it doesn't mean I can stop my feelings for you. You are Ram's soon-to-be wife, and I will respect that. No poaching. But I am still in love with you Quierda. I will have to settle for being your friend, instead of your husband. I love you Quierda." He hugged me, kissing the top of my head.

"I love you too, Carlos." I pulled out of his hug just as Evan and the others crested the low rise in the distance.

When they caught up, we allowed them to catch their breath for a moment prior to heading back to the house. "Damn Baby girl! Did you wait for us here the whole time?"

I shook my head as Lester spoke up in my defense. "Nope! She's already been to the house once and decided to come back and get you guys before she was done."

Tank huffed out, "Hard to believe you had a dislocated ankle a few days ago." I nodded in agreement. "Baby girl, you ready? Let's get back, I need my morning coffee."

"Sounds good. I'll stay with you guys." I ran sandwiched between Tank and Evan on the remainder of the trip. It felt comforting and familiar, like being wrapped in a warm blanket. "Les? Will you go ahead and let Momma know we're almost back and tell her I'll help her get breakfast when I get there?"

"Sure thing Beautiful." He smiled and winked at me.

Les surged ahead and soon zipped out of sight. When we arrived Momma had two flats of eggs, a whole side of bacon, fifty sausage patties, four gallons of milk, three melons, a large bowl of strawberries , a huge bag of homemade granola, and twenty-five pounds of potatoes for hashbrowns sitting on the counter ready to prepare. I ushered the guys off to clean up and dress, so Momma and I could get down to work. I pulled on an apron Momma handed me and washed my hands. An hour and a half later we had breakfast on the table, two huge urns of hot coffee and two gallons of orange juice sat on the counter nearest the table. Momma handed me an old fashioned supper bell, smiling I stepped out onto the porch and let it fly. I rang it for all I was worth, yelling at the top of my lungs, "COME AN' GET IT!" I rushed back into the kitchen and watched the guys come pouring in. They all grabbed their plates and stood in line waiting for their turn to fill it up, then to sit to eat. Before each man started down the buffet line, he bent and placed a kiss on Momma and my cheeks.

Pop had come into the kitchen and stood at the end of the line for a moment, before the guys ushered him forward to the front. Ranger stepped aside for Pop, "Sir, it's your home, please go ahead."

"Thank you Major. I appreciate that." Pop walked over to the front and began to fill his plate. I looked to Ranger, my eyebrows raised and mouthed 'Major?'

"Babe. It's common for current and former military to call one another by their rank." He shrugged and smiled.

"Oh. Didn't know that." I nodded absorbing that little tidbit of knowledge.

I finally followed Momma and placed myself at the end of the line. There were still mounds of food left on the platters, so I filled my plate to the brim and found the last open chair and sat. "Damn Bomber!" Cal exclaimed. "You gonna' eat all that?"

His eyes wide in disbelief, Hal laughed heartily. "Looks like she could eat us under the table." Reaching for a sausage patty on my plate with his fork, I slapped the top of his hand with my fork. "Ouch!"

"Don't touch my food, Hal! If you want more, get up and get it yourself. The time I will share food with someone is if I offer. So back off, Buster!" Hal rubbed his hand, while the others died of laughter.

"So Ram, you gonna' take us up to the lake for some fishing?" Cal asked between bites of melon. "I want to put a hurtin' on some trout."

"Yeah, we can head up there. The best trout are in the stream though. Angel, you want tag along?"

"Do I have to touch the worms?" Evan laughed, throwing his head back. Nearly all the guys at the table did the same.

"Angel. There's no live bait with fly fishing. Just a fake insect with a hook imbedded in it." He patted my knee. "You can sunbathe if you don't want to try fishing."

Plastering a smile on my face, I agreed, "Okay. But no one throws me in the water and no splashing."

Les pouted, "Awww. You're no fun. Just like the first time we met you. No getting shot! I mean come on! Who thinks that when we're cleaning out a crack den?" My hand threw the sausage patty at his head before I could think. It hit the dead center of his forehead, and fell onto the tabletop. The momentary look of shock on his face was priceless. Shrugging his shoulders, he popped the patty into his mouth and chewed, much to my chagrin. After seeing the look of horror on my face, he asked, "What? I'm still hungry."

"Ewww! Les, that's so gross! I can't believe you ate that!" I visibly shuddered, and put my hand over my mouth hoping to prevent myself from losing what little food I had already eaten. I managed to finish my breakfast after allowing my stomach time to quit fighting back. I casually asked Evan, "Can I ride Comfort today? I think he'd like it."

"Angel. He's a great trail horse. You already proved you can saddle him up yourself, so after you get cleaned up we'll meet you in the barn."

"M'kay."

"Babe. Mind if I tag along?"

"Sure. As long as you can ride a horse." I slapped my forehead after receiving the eyebrow from Ranger, then added sarcasticlly . "Of course, how silly of me! I forgot. You're Bad Ass Ranger Manoso. You know how to do everything!"

Lester pouted again, "Can we come too?" He swept his hand across the table. "You know you want to say yes. How can you say no to this face?" He grabbed Tank's face in his hand, squeezing his cheeks forcing him to sport a kissy face. Tank swatted Lester's hand away.

"Santos. Crossing the line." Tank's gave Les one of his best menacing stares. "Touch me again and I break you in two."

Cal broke the tension, "Bomber, so if we're all going we could make a day of it. You and I could pack a picnic. What do you say?"

"Sure, but let's make it fast. I want to lay out in the sun."

"Yes Ma'am! Just curious..." He paused stealing a quick glance at Evan. "Is it a bikini?" Evan growled and swung his fist at Cal playfully.

"You'll just have to wait and see." I taunted.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while. I do not profit from this work.**

**Chapter 21**

Forty minutes later I was washed, dressed and in the kitchen with Cal and Hal packing lunch into three baskets. Momma specially wrapped a couple of pies and a tin of cookies for us to take with us. Good Lord! I'm afraid we're going to have extra time added to our gym sessions after we get back from all the food we've eaten. Hal and Cal carried the baskets out to the barn with me in tow.

I saddled Comfort while Evan helped the other guys saddle up theirs. I helped Evan with the two mules, loading them with our food baskets and supplies. Fishing gear, blankets, a huge bag of picket lines and a bag of towels. I watched as most of the guys mounted their horses without trouble, except Tank. He looked a little apprehensive about it. "What's the matter Big Guy?" I asked as I tuggged at his arm.

"I think it's a little cruel to burden this horse with all my weight." I looked from Tank to his horse and back again. I could understand his quandry. He was quite large, 6'6" and 300 pounds of pure muscle.

Evan walked over and clapped Tank on the shoulders. "Tank no worries, man. This is a clydesdale. A drafthorse. They were bred to carry and pull heavy loads. You're nothing for Sherman. I thought it would suit you just fine." He laughed. "Hey I just thought about it. Sherman and Tank. Fitting don't you think?" Tank smiled and mounted the horse, it handled his weight without a problem.

Evan and I mounted our horses and lead the way out of the barn to the lake. Almost two hours later we parted the trees surrounding the lake and dismounted. Setting up the picket lines we spaced the horses far enough apart, but close enough to keep an eye on them. Evan, Hal and Cal donned waders, grabbed their fly fishing poles, and headed down the hill to the stream. I grabbed a blanket and with Bobby's help I spread it out near the water. I dropped my socks and boots off to the side and shimmied out of my shirt and jeans. Standing in the bright sunshine, I wore the bikini I got from Freddie's store, minus the blood stains. I stretched and winced as the stitches in my shoulder pinched a little. He turned me and removed the protective bandage over the stitches to take a quick look. "Clean and neat stitches, the doctor that did these really knows what he's doing. It's healed enough so it looks like you can take the bandage off now, Bomber. Let it breath."

"Thanks Bobby." I laid down on my stomach and enjoyed sunning myself for a while. Ranger was laid out next to me an arm over his eyes, asleep. He had changed into black swim trunks and no shirt. It was quite the sight. Les, Bobby, Justin, Junior, and Tank were all similarly dressed. Some were either asleep in the sun like Ranger or exploring around the small lake.

Tank crept up on a sleeping Bobby, grabbed his leg and flung him into the water. He surfaced, sputtering. "Asshole!" He splashed towards Tank, but in the process managed to drench Ranger completely, waking him from his nap.

"BROWN!" Ranger jumped to his feet, ready in a defensive posture. "Die!" Ranger ran to the edge of the bank and jumped in tackling Bobby, sending them both underwater. Tank soon jumped in to seperate the two and managed to get dunked in the process. I was dying of laughter from my spot on the nice dry blanket, when Ranger stopped. He stalked out of the water, his eyes focused on me. "You're laughing at me?"

I jumped up and started to cautiously back up, "Carlos! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Remember I said no splashing me or throwing me into the water!"

He stopped his stalk momentarily, "You didn't say anything about not carrying you into the water." He said matter of factly.

"Shit!" I tried to make a run for it, but it was useless. He had me up and over his shoulder in the matter of a few steps. "Carlos!" I yelled. "Don't you dare!"

"Dare what Babe?"

"Don't please! I just want to get a tan."

"No."

"No?"

"No." He replied striding back to the egde of the water. "You are going in. Like it or not." He jumped into the water with me still over his shoulder. When we hit, I sucked in a mouthful of water and came up choking. It was freezing! I swam over to Tank, climbed onto his back and out of the water.

"Babygirl. You're shivering. You want me to take you back to the blanket?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. I want to get Ranger back for pulling me in here. Help me please?"

"Sure. Babygirl."

"Just hold him still. I just need a second."

"Sure Baby girl." Tank swam over to Ranger and coaxed him to the shallow end. The stood in knee deep water watching me swim to them. As I stood on my feet and walked towards them, I could tell Ranger was far more concerned about noticing how my nipples were pebbled from the cold water then paying attention to Tank. Tank grabbed him and put him in a headlock, and I giggled. I bent over grabbed a handful of sandy mud from the bottom of the lake, pulled open the front of Ranger's trunks and deposited the mud right down the front of his shorts. "Dios, Babe!" I let the waistband snap back into place before making a run for it. When Tank finally released me Ranger dove into the lake and shook out his pants. "Quierda? Why'd you do me like that? I guess we're even."

I stuck my tongue out at him and smiled. "We're even. Now pick me up and carry me back to the blanket. I can't walk over the sharp rocks from here, they'll hurt my feet."

"Babe." He strode over, picked me up into his strong arms, cradled me against his chest and picked his way over the rocks to the blanket on the other side of the little lake. He gently tipped me so my feet touched the ground.

After getting my feet underneath me, I stood and hugged Ranger. "Thanks Carlos." I kissed him gently on the lips, then looked down at the ground blushing. "Sorry. Old habits die hard."

"Babe. I don't mind. But you know Ram won't care for it much." He whispered caressing my cheek with the back of his fingers.

"I know. I just had a momentary lapse." I admitted quietly, looking everywhere but at him. Using a knuckle, he turned my face to his. "Babe. Remember I love you, unconditionally, no price. That means if I can only love you from a distance, I can live with that."

I hugged him again, when I heard Lester call from a ways off, "Hey! Where's my hug, Beautiful?" He walked up and drew my into a huge hug. "You're so hot in this teeny tiny bikini." He smiled wickedly, "Want to go to Europe with me? They have topless beaches there!" He waggled his eyebrows.

"Santos!" Ranger barked. "No Europe. No topless." He watched Les's face fall. Ranger had to admit, he himself wanted to see her laying in the sun topless. Babe's breasts bare to the kisses of the sun's rays. He sighed, he wouldn't see them like that, not anymore. He placed his normal neutral face in place and focused on the continuing banter between his Babe and Santos.

"...and it's probably so small you can't even see it when it's cold!" I smarted off to him.

Lester grabbed at his chest in feigned hurt. "Beautiful, you'd be suprised with how big it can get even when it's cold." Ranger shook his head not wanting to learn the true nature of my conversation with Lester. I was going to tell him it was exactly what he thought, but I never got the chance.

Evan, Hal and Cal came hiking back holding a long stringer of trout. "Hungry for lunch?" Hal smiled and held up the fish.

"Had good luck I see." Ranger suprised me by grabbing the stringer and headed off to clean the fish. Watching him in work in quiet efficiency, I observed as Ranger pulled his knife from it's sheath, then gutted and cleaned the fish. He rinsed the fish with water from the lake, while Evan and Hal built a small cooking fire. Cal cut fresh willow branches and sharpened them to a point. Ranger impaled each fish onto it's own stick, and handed them to me. I held the sticks, fish lifeless, and made a face.

"Ewww. This is so gross." I sniffed the fish, at least it didn't smell bad, I thought. "The only fish I'm uses to comes in stick form already breaded," I mused.

"Angel. I'm broadening your horizons. It's really good. Just try it."

"Okay, but if I don't like it, I'm making myself a sandwich." EVan nodded and chuckled.

Cal collected the sticks from me and planted the thickened end into the ground at the edge of the fire, allowing the heat and flames to roast our fish. A while later, my mouth began to water smelling the roasting fish flesh. Bobby and I laid out the other two blankets and unpacked the baskets. We spread out our food and waited for the fish to finish cooking. Pulling plates out, I walked over to Evan who was tending the fire with Cal. They pulled out the sticks and slid a fish onto each plate, we handed out the plates and loaded up with the remainder of our gooodies.

I moaned, my eyes rolled back into my head as I tasted the first bite of the fresh fish. "Oh, this is sooo good!" I exclaimed, digging in for a second bite, moaning again but only louder.

Evan snickered, "I thought you said it was gross, Angel."

"I was. Before it was cooked. Now it's wonderful!" I picked up a particularly large piece and shoved it into my mouth.

As I chewed away happily at my lunch, Lester asked Evan, "Hey Ram, you plan on returning here anytime soon?"

Evan thought for a moment, swept his gaze to me and answered, "Eventually. I'd love to move back. Pop just bought another 750 acres off to the west. He and I thought it would be a good property to build a house and raise a family."

I nearly choked on my lunch. "Really?" I asked nearly in tears. He nodded and grinned at me with his sexy lopsided smile.

"Angel. I plan on being with Rangeman as long as I can, but we can always have a second home here for the time being." Setting his plate down next to him, he held open his arms. I dropped my plate into Tank's lap and rushed into his arms. He soothed my hair and kissed the top of my head, as I nuzzled into his chest.

Ranger broke the silence, "How long do you plan on being with us, Ram?"

"As long as you'll have me Bossman. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Rangeman's my home."

I piped in, "And mine!" Lester and Bobby exchanged glances between them, as I asked, "What?"

Ranger quietly said, "Babe, we're glad you're staying. We just need to make a few adjustments to your living situation. We need you to move out of your apartment."

"Why? I like my apartment." I was puzzled. Why were they asking me to move out? Why would they ask me like this? Did I do something wrong?

Apparently the look of fear and uncertainty was plastered on my face for all to see. "Babe. You won't need it anymore. We assumed you were moving in with Ram. Plus our newest Rangeman will need a place of his own." Ranger looked over at Justin and nodded towards him.

Feeling like an idiot, I rolled my eyes. "Geesh, you could have asked me nicer. I thought you wanted me to quit and move out." I pouted while the guys chuckled.

"What would give you that impression, Babygirl?" Tank asked me. "We'd never be able to function again without you. You're the reason many of the guys are still with us. Both Manny and Badger have both declined offers to retire because they want to stay with you."

I blushed, "They really did that?" I felt humbled. I was the reason that Manny got shot in the chest at point blank range during the whole Scrog incident. Scrog was trying to capture me to use as bait to kill Ranger. And Badger, well, he was almost fifty. He was a grizzled man with grey hair and a beard. He was Hector's right hand man, installing security systems. He liked to tease me by throwing firecrackers at my feet when I walked past the door of the security install workroom on my way to the firing range. The first time I had my weapon drawn and pointed straight at his head after I heard the firecracker explode. All he could do was double over with laughter and pound his fist on the worktable. I grew to like him over the years, even though he could be a major pain in the ass.

"Babygirl, they've grown to love you just like the rest of us." Tank smiled, his white teeth a dramatic contrast to the dark skin of his face. "So? You moving in with Ram yet, or what?"

I stammered, "Mov.. move in with him? Already?"

"Angel. It's the best solution. And you pretty much stay at my place as it is now anyway. You might as well move in now. To hell with waiting for the wedding." Evan hugged me again, I could feel his heart beating as fast as mine.

I looked up into his beautiful green eyes, "Really? Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Angel. I've been ready since the day I met you." His lips touched mine in a gentle loving kiss. I pulled back and snuggled deep into his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Okay, we move my meager possessions into your apartment when we get back."

He chuckled, "Angel. It's _OUR_ apartment now." The feeling of heat rushed over my face and upper body. I knew that I was covered in splotches of red and pink on my face and chest when I blushed.

"Our apartment. I like the sound of that." I smiled and giggled with glee. Turning to Justin, I asked him, "Do you have houseware stuff you can bring?"

Justin first nodded, then frowned and shook his head, "Well, just my essentials. I guess I can buy things as I go along. Plus Momma will probably send me a couple of care packages with stuff in them."

"Don't worry. If you need something I can always lend you mine. Besides I can't have my future Brother-in-law living near us without helping him cozy up the place. Just so you know, Evan and I will be two doors down the hall, if you need anything."

Evan chimed in, "Call first." I punched his arm playfully. "She may need to put something on before she answers the door."

"Sex fiend!" I shot at him jokingly.

We finished our lunch and I resumed my position on the blanket sunning myself. I flipped over onto my back when I caught the sight of something odd out of the corner of my eye. It looked like a dark boulder was slowly rolling down the slope of the low hill across the lake. I tapped Ranger on his arm and pointed to the dark boulder, "What is that? Is that a boulder rolling down the hill?" He raised his arm to glance in the direction I had indicated.

"Ram! Eleven o'clock!"

Evan snapped his head around and focused on the dark spot. "Angel, get your thing together. Bossman, we need to leave now!"

Ranger and the guys hopped to and had our little camp cleaned up and packed away in a matter of a few moments. I started to saddle up the horses and pack the mules, while Evan, Bobby and Ranger stood guard watching the spot change from a single dot, to one large dot and two smaller dots. I finished saddling the horses with Hal and Cal's help, and I pulled the picket lines. It only took a matter of four minutes to pack everything. I slipped my jeans back on, threw my boots on, tucked my shirt into the back of my waistband, leaving my bikini top on uncovered. "Evan we're ready to go." We all mounted as Evan continued to watch the dots warily.

He mounted his horse, all the while watching the dots come closer. By this time I could tell that they weren't boulders, they were a mother grizzly and her two cubs. "Let's get the hell out of here." Evan said as he kicked his horse into a walk. After about fifteen minutes, I asked Evan why we left in such a hurry. "Angel. That was a mother gizzley and her cubs. I don't care who you are... you never mess with a momma and her cubs. Never!"

"Why did they come towards us? Shouldn't they be afraid of us?"

"Angel, they probably smelled the fish cooking. During the summer they have to gorge themselves so they can fatten up for their winter hibernation. If you were a bear, wouldn't the smell of cooking fish make you hungry?"

We laughed and joked the rest of the trip back to the house. We dismounted in the barn, dealt with the horses and mules, then headed to the bunk house with the guys. I watched them as they packed the black duffles with their belongings. "Babe." Ranger asked. I sat on his bed, pulled my feet up and hugged my knees. "Are you ready to deal with Morelli when we get back?"

"I guess I have no choice." I answered flatly.

"He's not going to go without a fight. You know that." He warned me, watching my reaction.

I jumped off of the bed throwing my hands into the air, gesturing wildly as I paced back and forth ranting. "What the hell? I mean, he's known for a long time things weren't going right between us. Now that I'm with Evan I think it may get worse! What if he tries to hurt Evan? What if he tries to hurt you?" I stopped in my tracks and looked at Ranger and Evan with dread. I whispered quietly, "What if he tries to hurt me?" I started to cry. I hated crying, it made me feel like I was powerless.

"Angel. You'll be protected at all times. We'll keep you safe." I stopped at his words, gazing into his fierce looking eyes.

"Evan. What if you can't? What if he still manages to find a way to hurt me, or you?" I started to pace again, this time faster.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. If we get to that point." Ranger reassured me, pulling me into a hug. "We'll do everything possible to keep you safe, but you'll have to trust us." He pulled back a fraction of an inch, looking into my eyes. "Trust me?"

"With my life." I answered matter of factly. "I trust all of you with my life." I smiled at the guys and Ranger released me.

"Good, now lets get this loaded into the truck. We have to leave soon."

"Leave soon? I thought we didn't have to leave until after dinner."

"Angel. We have to drive to the airstrip where the helo is waiting for us. It's a good four hour trip. Plus, we still have to pack our things. We better get a move on."

"I guess." I pouted. Evan led me into the house and up the staris to his room.

I was sad I was leaving and I was trying to stall. I packed all my things into my duffle, before pulling them out again to repack. "Angel. You're stalling."

"Am not." I lied, I was trying to put off the inevitable. We were leaving the ranch tonight.

Momma poked her head in the door. "Evan, Darlin'. I packed a box with a few things for your trip." She held out a small cardboard box in her one hand, and a thermos in the other. "Hot coffee. Junior can bring it back when he brings the truck back."

I reached for her drawing Momma into a crushing hug. "Momma, I don't want to leave."

"I know Darlin'. But October will be here before you know it and you'll be talking to me on the phone. So you're not really leaving. Just think of it as, you're just visiting Trenton for an extended period of time."

"I know. It's just so hard, I love it here. I love you Momma."

"I love you too Darlin'." She kissed my cheek and embraced me in another tight hug. Evan wrapped his massive arms around both of us, hugging us close to him.

"My two most favorite women in the world." He sighed contently.

Being sassy, I popped off with, "I thought they were Sandra Bullock and Ella."

"Hey now!" Momma laughed. "Ella has damn fine desserts!" We chuckled and finished packing our duffles.

Downstairs Evan walked out of the house and loaded our bags into the truck, while I stayed behind and said my goodbyes to Momma and Pop. I hugged Pop and Momma teilling them I'd call every couple of days to check in and keep her updated with the wedding planning. I backed away to give Justin a chance to say goodbye. By the time he was finished, Justin was covered in red lip prints where Momma had kissed him repeatedly wishing him luck and telling him to stay safe. Evan returned and was treated to the same covering of lip prints from Momma. Pop held Momma to his side while she started to cry. "Evan, take care of your brother. I know he can hold his own, but watch him all the same." He asked Evan, knowing he would.

"Yes, Sir." Evan shook Pop's hand.

Ranger and the guys entered the entryway and gave Momma and Pop their goodbyes. She made sure to give them each a kiss on the cheek and reassured them that they could come visit anytime. "Make sure you all take good care of my Darlin'." It was answered by a chorus of "Yes Ma'am."

Pop shook Ranger hand, "Major. Take good care of my boys. And keep Steph safe."

"Will do, Master Sergeant."

The guys loaded up into the SUV, Justin and Junior occupied the back seat of Evan's truck, while Evan and I took the front. We pulled away from the house and I sighed heavily. I turned to watch the house fade into little black dots on the horizon, until I turned around and settled deeped into me seat for the long ride ahead. I sat watching the scenery pass by for an hour before I remembered the box Momma had packed. I pulled it out and undid the string tied around it. I pulled open the flaps to discover not only bags of cookies and crackers, but bags of jerky and dried fruit as well. I pulled open a bag of jerkey marked E Jerky and last years date. I popped a piece in my mouth and chewed, enjoying the salty and meaty piece. I offered peices to Evan and the boys. We happily were munching on the jerky when curiosity got the better of me.

"Evan. Why's the bag marked E Jerkyy? Is this the bag Momma was saving for you?" I asked chomping down on another piece.

Evan cleared his throat. Looking back at Junior and Justin in the rearview, his eyes pleaded with them for help. Justin sucked it up and dropped the bomb on me. "Steph, the E isn't for Evan. It's for Elk. That's elk jerky you're eating. Junior shot one last year, it was so huge, we had to jerk a large portion of the rear quarters and the scraps, too. We ran out of canning jars and the freezer was full. It's the best way to preserve it."

I held up to my face the piece of jerky I was holding in my hand, and scrutinized it carefully. It looked like Jerky, it smelled like jerkey, and it tasted like jerkey. "I never would have thought that elk would taste like this." I admitted, and bit into my piece again. Sighing with relief, Evan relaxed, thankful I hadn't spazzed out about eating part of an elk. After what we witnessed with the mountain lion, he was pleasantly suprised. "Hey, I forgot to ask. What did the Game Warden say about the mountain lion? We didn't get into trouble did we?"

Justin shook his head. "Nope we're fine. I put it in the freezer in the shed. He'll come by and pick it up tomorrow. He said that our neighbor had trouble with livestock being taken by it as well. So it worked out in the long run."

"I'm sorry it had to die." I felt sad for the poor animal. I know it would have attacked me had it gotten the chance at the stream, but I still felt bad. It was a living breathing thing, and it's life was snuffed out. Now, as for the ground squirrells... they could all die and I wouldn't have the slightest twinge of guilt or remorse. They should be nothing but a puff of smoke and a pink mist.

"Angel!"

"What?" I asked puzzled.

"No guilt or remorse? Puff of smoke and pink mist?"

"Damn! I said it outloud didn't I?"

"Yes." Junior laughed. "Hey Steph. I just wanted to let you know I talked to Maisey."

I turned around in my seat to look him in the eyes. "If you don't mind me asking, how did it go?"

"First she denied it. Then I told her that I was done and I couldn't do it anymore, she caved and confessed to cheating on me from the start." He paused, staring out the window in deep thought. "She asked for us to stay together, for me to forget. But, I can't. I can't forget. I told her to leave the ring, leave the things I bought her and leave the car at Deeters house. She cried and pitched a fit when I walked out the door."

"I'm sorry Junior. I didn't mean for your heart to get broken." I whispered, shocked at how calm he was.

"It had to be done. She admitted that she would have had to tell me sooner or later. She's seven weeks pregnant," I looked at him, willing him to finish. "and we never had premarital sex." I did my best fish impression, mouth gaping open and closed no words coming out.

"It's Smoltz's baby." Junior looked into the rearview mirror to Evan's eyes. They narrowed as the look of disgust filled his face.

"I'm sorry Junior." I patted his arm that he had slung over the front seat while he talked to me. Wanting to change the subject I asked him, "Are you going to come visit us in Trenton soon?"

"Maybe after the wedding sometime. I'd like to travel down the East Coast a ways, getting away from here for a spell. I think it'll do me some good."

"Sounds like a plan." I smiled at him and tossed another piece of jerky into his hands.

I fell asleep, lulled by the gentle swaying motion of the truck. I awoke with a start when I realised the truck had stopped moving. I looked around to find us gassing up at a little gas station in the middle nowhere. I snuggled back into the seat pulling Evan's jacket back over me. I nodded asleep once again and was rosed from my slumber by a tickling sensation in my left ear. My eye still closed, I swatted at whatever was touching my ear, only to hit a hand. "What the hell?" I stammered sleepily. Opening my eyes after turning my head I saw Evan tracing the shell of my ear with his finger.

"Angel. Time to get up." I scrunched up my face and pouted.

"But, I'm so tired." I protested in my groggy state.

"I'll carry you Angel. Go back to sleep." I closed my eyes and felt his arms carry me out of the truck and onto the open tailgate of the truck. He laid me out and covered me with his jacket again. In the back of my mind I thinking I could stay asleep and rest on the way home, when I realised that i had to say goodbye to Junior.

I sat up rubbing my eyes. "Junior! Junior where are you?" I searched around for him and found him helping the guys unload their duffles from the black rental SUV.

He jogged over and hugged me. "Thought you were going to leave without saying goodbye to me, Steph." He kissed the top of my head. "I will miss you, Steph."

"I'll miss you too, Junior. Take care of Momma and Pop." I tugged at the collar of his shirt, straightening it. "I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to my favorite." I smiled and winked at him.

He shouted to Justin, "Steph said I'm her favorite!" He grinned a mile wide.

Justin shook his head. "Better not let that go to your head, big brother." Justin clapped Junior into a man-hug and clapped his back with his hands. "Take care of yourself. See you in a couple of months."

"Later Bro." He shook Justin's hand. "Evan. Man take care of Steph. I'll see you when you get back here in a few months."

"Later Junior." He shook Juniors hand then pulled him into a bearhug as well. He handed Junior the keys to the truck and placed his arm over my shoulder to watch him leave. Junior waved one last time before climbing into the truck and driving away. "Angel. You ready to go home?"

"Yeah. I guess so." I sighed.

"Well, we'll eat supper at the cafe here at the airport, before we inspect the helo." I looked around and noticed we were back at the same municipal airport we flew out of in Helena with Justin.

We ate quickly and headed to a hanger far to the left of the cafe. We came upon the door to the hanger and knocked. Opening up the door, a man in his sixties greeted us and invited us in. Shaking Ranger's hand he spoke, "You must be Major Manoso. I'm Chet. Captain Blanchard said you'd be by tonight to pick her up." We moved deeper into the hanger. It was dark and my eyes adjusted quickly to the dark interior. The smell of diesel fuel and grease assaulted my nose, wrinkling it in disgust. The lights were thrown on and the biggest helo I had ever seen towered in front of us.

"You bought this gigantic thing?" I asked Ranger in disbelief. "It's huge!"

I front of us sat a monster. "CH-47 Chinook, top speed 170 knots, cruising speed 130 knots, 98 feet long, 18 feet 11 inches high, range of 400 nautical miles, service ceiling of 18,500 feet, twin turbo shaft engines, capacity of 55 troops or 28,000 pounds. Crew of three to handle it, pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer. She's beautiful, and in great condition." Justin recited from memory, as he inspected the helo top to bottom. Pulling out the service records he inspected them closely. "I see this girl was with the Montana National Guard. I trust them, they take real good care of their equipment." He stated to Ranger. Ranger nodded and shook Chet's hand.

"We'll take it from here."

"Have a good flight Major."


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while. I do not profit from this work.**

**Chapter 22**

We loaded up the helo as Justin ensured it was full with fuel. Tank operated the taxi, and pulled it out of the hanger to the tarmac. I watched as the rear loading ramp lowered and the guys started to file on. I hesitated, unsure. Justin had never flown this particular Helo before and I was scared it would fall apart and Justin wouldn't be able to save us. "Angel. My cousins run the helos for the Montana Air National Guard. They wouldn't let anyting happen this girl. I promise." He could see the apprehension in my face. He nudged me towards the ramp, I climbed up and into the helo.

We sat along the sides in fold down canvas seats. I strapped myself in and clung to the straps, white knuckled. Ranger laughed and jokingly said, "Now, that's the Babe I remember before a flight." I turned my head and gave him a nasty glare. I was scared and I'll be damned if I'm going to listen to him tease me.

"Carlos... BITE ME!" I snapped at him. He chuckled and leaned back into his seat.

Evan seated himself next to me, held my hand and smiled. "Angel. We'll be alright. We're going to fly to Billings fuel up, then head to Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, from there we head to Offutt AFB in Nebraska. We'll do an twelve hour layover to let Justin and Tank sleep, then head to Scott AFB in Illinois, then Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. Then we head home to Trenton. We should be home in two days. If you don't want to wait that long we can find a flight commercially, but I would like to stay with Justin. I know each leg is long, Angel, but don't worry we'll get out and stretch and eat at each stop. Plus we'll get a hotel room at Offutt. You ready for this?" He yelled the last part as the engines started and caught. I nodded, suddenly queasy. He handed me a helmet, and I begrudgedly pulled it on. I could hear Justin, Hal and Tank radioing back and forth between themselves with the safety checks. Just then, Justin received clearance from the tower to take off. He gave them a "Rodger Tower. Cleared for take off." Before I felt the helo lift from the tarmac and into the sky.

Once we leveled off, I noticed that there was a huge metal box secured in the center of the helo. I had been too preoccupied with fear to notice it before. I could hear liquid sloshing inside as we moved a little with turbulence. I pointed to the box and asked Evan, "What is that?"

He looked to where my finger pointed and smiled. "It's an auxillery fuel tank. Doubles our flight range, gives us an additonal 450 miles in distance. But it's only for the long legs of our flight home. Some of the bases are farther than 450 miles apart. It's so we make sure we have enough fuel."

The look of horror on my face was hard to miss. "So we don't crash?"

"So we don't crash. Angel, Justin won't let us crash. I promise." I nodded, his hand snaked it's way behind my head and onto my neck. The heavenly feeling of his fingers massaging my neck just below the lip of the helmet made me relax and sink into my seat. I turned to kiss him, bending forwards to touch lips when our helmets colided and prevented me from feeling his warm supple lips on mine. I pouted and removed my helmet, shaking out my unruly hair, I leaned back over and touched my lips to his. He drew back after a moment and smiled at me, sending a shiver down my spine. I tugged my helmet back over my head and leaned back into the seat. After a while, I noticed that if I closed my eyes, riding in the helo wasn't so bad.

The first leg of our journey to Billings was short and uneventful. We decended to the airport's far side designated for helo's and landed after receiving clearance. We hopped out after Justin said it was okay, and I made a bee line for the bathrooms in the nearest building. Returning to our group hanging out at a hanger off to one side, we ate cold sandwiches Cal had procurred. I sniffed my sandwich before shrugging and biting in. I sighed, content with the flavor of the honey ham and swiss cheese. We finished up as the fuelman completed the topping off of the tank. Ranger handed over his black Rangeman credit card, while we waited for it's return, I chugged a cola, thirsty from the ham and cheese sandwich. Between the extemely cold soda and the fizz I looked at Evan with tears in my eyes, "What's the matter Beautiful?" Lester asked rubbing my back. Before I could stop myself I let loose a huge belch, feeling the air rush past my lips. The gentle rubbing of my back from Les had helped to move the trapped air in my stomach, upward. I slapped my hands over my mouth, eyes wide open, and totally horrified. All I could hear in my ears was the voice of my mother, 'Stephanie Michelle Plum! What were you thinking? Where are your manners?'. I looked to Evan who began to die of laughter, the guys were falling over themslves, slapping each other on the back and trying to hold each other up.

Ranger chuckled, "Babe. That was disgusting." He smiled slightly, then added, "I give it a nine."

Evan and Les looked to each other and in unison said, "Definately a nine."

Hal, wiping tears from his eyes, shook his head. "No way, man. I give it a ten! It came from deep in the belly, and she deflated a good six inches in the gut."

I blushed and tried not to run away from pure embarassment. I quietly squeaked out, "Excuse me" which fueled another round of laughter, by the end of which I was laughing along too. Ranger received his card back with a receipt from the fuelman and we loaded back onto the helo for our next leg. Before Justin started the engines, Ranger made a quick call, using his normal limited verbage. I couldn't hear him, but I could see his lips moving, I was able to read his lips say 'need clearance', 'Rangeman' and something along the lines of 'you owe me'. He flipped the phone shut and made a whirling motion in the air with his index finger to Justin and he started the engines.

After receiving clearance from Ellsworth AFB, we dropped down to land, refuel and grab a quick bite to eat. When we landed, a small squad of USAF Security Forces surrounded our helo and secured it before asking for our ID's. Justin and I pulled out our driver's licenses while the others pulled their military ID from their wallets. After double checking our ID's, the USAFSF saluted Ranger before they disembarked the helo. Justin and Tank went to ensure they procurred the fuel for the helo, while the rest of us waited on Ranger to get us a vehicle. He came back a few moments later with the keys to a Humvee. My gaze went from Ranger, to the Humvee, to the building he just exited from. "Were not going to spend time in the brig because you borrowed the Humvee, are we?" I asked hoping that his answer was no.

"Babe. Not tonight." He raised his eyebrow and gave his 2,000-watt smile.

We loaded up into the Hummer and headed off the tarmac and further into the base. Ranger seemed to know where he was going and soon pulled up in front of a building with a numbered sign out front. The dark brown sign offset the white lettering denoting it as the Building 1624 Enlisted Mess Hall. We slid out of the Hummer and fumbled our way inside. I first noticed how clean and neat things were, the next thing I noticed were all the guys wearing cami's and boots. It was almost like seeing an episode of M*A*S*H where they're eating in the mess tent, except there is no Hawkeye Pierce. Evan handed me a tray from under a cabinet and led me down the chow line to where the hot foods were. "Angel, you'll want to get a good hot meal now. We won't get another hot until late morning, when we hit Offutt AFB."

I looked at him like he had grown a second head. "More cold sandwiches?" I shuddered, I mean come on! A girl can only take so many cold sandwiches in a day. Unless they're Ella's sandwiches, I could eat those everyday for the rest of my life and not care. She was a wizard in the kitchen, she could make something edible and tasty from practically nothing.

"Angel. Make the most of it." I agreed, but hated the fact I was going to have to eat another cold cut special from who knows where. I looked over the available offerings the kitchen had prepared and I was pleasantly suprised. The kitchen was still cooking breakfast inside the massive kitchen, so supper was still on the steam tables. Beef stew with little baby carrots, fingerling potatoes, and mushrooms; chicken bundles, chicken breasts wrapped around spinach, cheese, roasted red pepper slices, and what looked like mushrooms; green tea poached salmon fillets; and slow cooked BBQ ribs. I couldn't quite make up my mind and let the other guys pass by and have their plates filled. Finally I decided on the chicken bundles, I gave my choice to the server and watched as she filled my plate to the brim with chicken bundles, green beans, mashed potatoes, and two rolls. My eyes must have bugged out of my head momentarily, because she started to laugh.

"Honey. Is that too much for you?" She asked, little crinkle lines appeared around her eyes. "I can take some back if you want me to." She wasn't wearing cami's, so I deduced she was a civilian worker.

I shook my head, "No that's okay. I'll need all of it. I won't get a good square meal until late tomorrow morning at Offutt. I better eat up while I can."

She shook her head disapprovingly. "Honey, a girl like you will wither away. Before you leave, come back to me. I'll have a pack made for you to take with you and some for your men." Head cocked to the side, she sized me up. "Honey, you're not military are you? You're not wearing an ABU, and you don't seen to have the mannerisms."

"No. I'm not. Is it that obvious?" I asked lauging. Extending my hand I offered her an handshake. "Stephanie Plum."

She shook mine in a proper ladylike handshake. "Vanessa Cooper. Nice to meet you. Honey, you stick out like a sore thumb. Your men keep calling you Bomber. I don't know of any woman with rank that would allow herself to be called that." She whispered, "I think they all got the hots for you." She gestured with her head to the table seating the guys.

I smiled and giggled, "I know. But I'm engaged to only one of them." I waved to Evan and he raised his hand back giving me a little wave. "That's mine right there." I said. "He's not Air Force. Evan's an Army Ranger. Isn't he hot?"

She leaned against the counter, "Hmm... he does make me blood pressure rise a little. But I think that big hulk of a guy right there is more of my liking." She indicated towards Tank. "He makes me want to butter his biscuits!"

Laughing heartily, I told her, "He's a Ranger too. In fact, there isn't an Airman among them. They're all Army and Navy guys. But if you want I can introduce you to Tank, if you'd like."

"Tank? Ooooh, that's a name I'd love to scream." I smiled knowing where her mind was wandering. I really looked at her taking in her good looks. She was about 6'2" tall, brown wavy hair, cream colored skin, deep brown eyes, pouty lips and an ass you could bounce a quarter off of.

"When I come back, I'll bring him with me, and introduce you. It's the least I could do, you've been so nice. Makes me not miss home so much."

"Honey, are you staying around here for a while?"

"No." I pouted. "We're on our way back to Trenton, New Jersey. Our company is flying back our newest Chinook helo from Helena, Montana."

"Honey, that's a hell of a long flight. Lots of stops and layovers huh?" She grimmaced. Holding up her finger, she perked up. "Hold on. Let me tell the guys in back to cook you up something that will travel well. Just make sure you bring tall dark and handsome with you when you come back."

"Yes, ma'am!" I smiled and headed to our table.

Cal raised his eyebrows, "Gathering intelligence from the locals, Bomber?"

I smiled. "You could say that. Vanessa's hooking us up with boxes of food for the flight. Plus, she's got the hots for Tank." He stopped eating and looked at me, weary of what I had just shared.

"The cute brunette at the counter? She's got the hot's for me?" He asked, smirking. "I knew it! Santos, Hal, Cal, pay up when we get to the helo."

I frowned and admonished them, "How rude! You four should get extra mat time for that." I looked at Ranger who held his hands up in mock surrender.

"I guess you have extra mat time, Gentlemen. The Boss says so." He indicated with his head in my direction. "What she says goes!" I smiled and began to inhale my food before it got cold.

Evan slid himself next to me and placed his warm hand onto my knee. "Angel. Would you like some milk? Or would you like some soda?" He chuckled, the guys snorting while shoveling in their food.

"Smart Ass! I'll have some milk please." He rose and retreived four large glasses of milk, two of orange juice and one of apple juice. I looked at him and smiled, knowing only one glass of milk was for me, the rest were for him. For a man who stopped being a 'growing boy' as Momma had tried to tell me, he could still pack away the food. His two plates had been filled to the brim and then some. His first plate consisted of beef stew, mashed potatoes, green beans, and two rolls. The second was worse than the first. On one side it had three chicken bundles on top of bread stuffing with gravy, corn and two slices of bread. The other was piled with the tea poached salmon over a mound of rice pilaf and aspargus. What remained now on either plates were a few toothpicks from the chicken, a few stray grains of rice and the sauce from the stew. He had inhaled it all in the matter of a few minutes. I worked at my plate finishing somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty minutes. They guys all sat around and watched me slowly pack away the entire plate and my full glass of milk, while that engaged in idle conversation.

"Bomber, you tease us about how much we eat, and look at you! I think that's the most I've ever seen you eat in one sitting." Hal exclaimed, his chin rested on his hands as he watched me drain the last of my milk from it's glass.

Patting my stomach, I stood and gave my best shit eating grin I could and stuck my tongue out at Hal. "You're just jealous you don't have my girlish figure." As I put one hand on my hip and used the other to bounce my hair a little. Hal blushed a deep crimson red and placed his head on the table.

"Angel you ready to head out?" Evan asked placing his massive hands on my hips.

"We have to go back to the counter and get our food, first." I turned to Tank and Bobby. "I need you two to come and help me."

Bobby's eyebrows raised and he guffawed at Tank. "Come on lover boy. Let's get the food from the hottie and split." Tank chuckled at Bobby's term of endearment.

We walked back to the end of chow line where Vanessa was waiting with four huge syrafoam coolers. "Tank I'd like for you to meet Vanessa Cooper. Vanessa this Is Captain Pierre La Rouche US Army." She lowered her lids slightly as she shook his hand. He looked smitten with her, and proceeded to chat her up while Bobby and I carried three of the four coolers back to the table. A few minutes later, I sauntered back to the pair, who were so engrossed in their converstion they failed to notice my arrival. I cleared my throat and waited for Tank to finish his converstion with the tall, leggy brunette. "Vanessa, I'd like to thank you for helping us out. We really appreciate it."

"Honey, it's no problem at all. You introduced me to Tank, and that's more than thanks, to me." She smiled sweetly at Tank. She handed me a bulky package, "These are chemical heat packs. They'll warm up your food, just squeeze one until you hear a pop and drop three into each cooler. Give it about an hour and you'll have piping hot food." I hugged her thanking her again, as she and Tank exchanged slips of paper prior to our departure from the chow hall. Tank was grinning from ear to ear when he carried the last of the coolers to our table and walked out of the chow hall to some good natured teasing from the guys.

We pulled the coolers out of the back of the Humvee and Ranger returned into the building where he had managed to gain access to the Humvee for us. He returned and walked over to me, placing his arm around my shoulders. Evan placed his arm around my waist and we three walked to the helo across the tarmac, together. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask Ranger where he got the Humvee from. "Ranger how'd you do it? How did you get the keys to the Humvee?"

"Babe. An airman I played poker with once still owed me. So I called in the favor." He smiled and leaned his head against mine. "He's just lucky that's the only thing I asked of him. I could have made it much worse." The corners of his eyes showed his laugh lines, and his mouth turned up at the corners ever so slightly giving him an evil look about him. I smile played across my lips, as my mind wandered a bit. I remembered something that Vanessa had mentioned, and I didn't understand.

"Hey, got a question for ya'."

"Babe?"

"What's an ABU? Vanessa mentioned it. She knew I wasn't military because I wasn't wearing an ABU and I didn't have the mannerisms."

"Airmen Battle Uniform. It's the fatigue's the airmen wear these days. And she's right, you don't have the mannerisms of being military." He explained, pointing out an airman who was walking over to us rfom the building. He nodded to the guy, who without so much as a hello to anyone in our group but Ranger. After he saluted, began to speak, "Major, the helo has been fueled and it ready to turn and burn." He hesitated a moment before he asked, "Major, permission to speak freely?"

Ranger nodded, and the airman continued. "Did you hand out wrenches to your crew before you boarded that Shithook in Helena?" He smiled, as he held up a clear plastic container full of wrenches. Ranger gave a quick bark of laughter, while Justin and Tank gave him their darkest look. I knew Justin had become attatched to the helo already. For the last 5 hours he's been talking to her like she could answer him, 'how's your oil pressure, girl?' let's take up up another 1000 feet girl so we don't get caught in the sheer, girl' and when we had taken off he had said 'come on girl, let's get you up and out of here... that's a good girl'. It was cute, like when a guy talks to his car.

Ranger saluted the man and dismissed him. He ran back to the building and disappeared from sight. Tank loaded the coolers into the helo and we started up the loading ramp. "Ranger?"

"Hmm?"

"One more question before we leave?" I asked hoping to get an answer without the standard military jargon I couldn't understand. "Why did he give us wrenches?"

Bobby laughed, and handed me one. "Bomber, the joke is... you ask if they've handed out the wrenches to the crew riding along. Then you tell them to tighten anything that jars loose, or unfastenes. Basically, if you see it come loose, tighten it back up."

I paled at the thought of the helo falling apart in midflight. I started to see black spots and stars, my vision becoming narrowed by a black fog closing in around what I could see in front of me. Evan's strong arms scooped me up and sat me on the edge of the ramp, my head was shoved down between my legs, and I tried not to hyperventilate. Bobby rubbed my back as Evan smoothed my hair, slowly my field of vision widened back to normal and I stopped seeing stars. I sat up slowly and noticed Bobby was rubbing the back of his head where apparently Ranger had smacked it. "Angel? You feeling better?"

"Yeah. I'm better. I just got woozy thinking about the helo falling apart midflight. It scared me." I admitted quietly, I kicked my feet back and forth absentmindedly, trying to calm my fears.

"Angel. My cousin James, used to maintain this helo before Ranger bought it. It's not going to fall apart. Trust me?"

"With my life, Baby."

"Alright then, let's get on board and ge the hell out of here." He held my arm as I stood up and stumbled my way into the helo much life a drunken sailor. "Here put your helmet back on so Justin can get us airborn." He placed the helmet into my outstretched hands and I flipped it over and tugged the helmet onto my head. Ranger watched to be sure I was squared away before he gave Justin the finger twirl thingy again. While the engines warmed, Justin received clearance to take off, and he relayed his receipt of those orders back to the tower. In a matter of moments we were airborn again, headed across the base and off to Nebraska.

During the flight I nodded off, my head hung down, chin on my chest and bobbed up and down with the movement of the helo. Evan covered me with his jacket and turned to Cal. He leaned close so he wouldn't have to yell too loudly. What he wanted to tell Cal would stay between them for a while yet. "Man, I thought I'd ask you somethin'."

Cal smirked, "What need me to hold your hand to go to the potty?" Evan rolled his green eyes, sighing before he continued. "Naw, man. I wanted to know if you'd be my best man?"

Cal's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. You're my best friend, man. Who else would I ask?" Evan shuffled his feet on the metal deck of the helo, his boot nudged the recessed cleat at his feet. "Just remember that I can't get too FUBAR'd before the ceremony, Angel would kill us all." Cal cringed at the thought of Bomber, dressed in a wedding dress, moving down a long line of Rangemen kicking their asses, one by one.

"Understood." Cal and Evan exchanged a complicated handshake that only they knew.

Cal leaned his head back and lost himself in his thoughts about Bomber. She had captured his heart years ago. He really hadn't had a chance to work with her right off the bat, like Hal had. Bomber had been called upon by Ranger to do a distraction at a seedy bar off of Stark street about six months after Cal had met her. Tank and Ranger had the rear entrance covered, Santos had the side, Binky had the front, and Bobby was on stand-by for medical. He was the man on the inside, playing the part of bartender, serving Bomber soda water like it was a gin fizz. She found her target after a few minutes and fed him some line about a wayward boyfriend. Cal tried hard not to laugh at the target's response, but a smile broke through, splitting his face in two. She managed to sweet talk the guy to the backdoor, but he sensed something was off. He grabbed her arm and pulled a gun from under his shirt, holding it to her side. Cal radioed to the others in the team what had happened and slowly moved into place behind the guy, who was grilling Bomber, squeezing her arm hard. Seeing her wince and try to pull her arm away unsucessfully, pushed him past his tolerance for stupidity. Cal pulled his sidearm, placed the muzzle against the back of the target's head and grabbed the guy by the scruff of the neck. The target released Bomber, but not before he brought his gun hand back shooting Cal in the leg. Bomber swung her fist into the target's jaw, knocked his ass out, and called out to the team that Bobby was needed. In the crush of patrons rushing to exit, Bomber was ripped from Cal and forced outside. She worked her way back inside and held his hand while Bobby triaged him on the dirty floor of that bar. She was with him while Bobby dug out the bullet on Bobby's exam table at Rangeman, and rubbed her forehead against his while he was being stitched up. He knew at that point that he, Calvin Daughtry, was in love with Bomber. He never said it out loud then, and he would never say it now. Bomber, long ago, was Ranger's woman, and now she was Ram's. Cal decided that being in love with her from a distance was better than not having her in his life at all. Cal eventually drifted to sleep, dreaming of Stephanie.

Evan watched the cavalcade of emotions cross Cal's face before he fell asleep. He turned his head to watch Angel sleeping, her face so peaceful and beautiful. She made him feel alive and contented, standing in stark contrast to the feelings of death and distruction he felt while on missions. Evan knew he could get called away at any time, usually for a single reason, his sniping skills. He wondered how Stephanie would feel about him if she knew he had killed nearly 50 men in the last year alone. He knew Angel would rationalize the fact he had killed as a necessary evil of his job, kill or be killed, or she would push it out of her mind and never think of it again. She was the queen of Denial Land, oblivious to anything that could be detramental to her mental well being and the thought of him bringing death upon so many men would cetainly quailfy as such. Speaking of detramental to her well being, until he and Angel were married, Morelli was going to be a major pain in the ass. Evan could only hope that he wouldn't do anything stupid, hurting Angel in the process. Evan nodded off to sleep thinking about Angel and her past relationship with the dickhead.

Evan woke with a start, his stomach was on fire, he knew the feeling well. It was his gut telling him something was wrong, really wrong. It usually didn't flare up unless he was in the wind, when everyday became a game of life or death. The only other times it flared was when Angel was in mortal danger, usually when she was near death, or severley injured. He usually kept it to himself and acted appropriately, which usually meant searching for her and coming to her aid. But today it puzzled him, why was it acting up? He remembered his last conscious thought before he fell asleep. Morelli... Evan frowned at the thought of that Peckerhead. The searing pain in his gut intensified and he knew deep down that Morelli was the reason for his premonition. He made a mental note to discuss his gut feeling with Ranger after they landed at Offutt. Evan leaned over and kissed Angel on her helmet, assuring himself she was okay, and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

When Evan awoke again, I had pulled the coolers to surround me at myr feet, lids askew. I squeezed the heat packs as fast as I could, activating three before throwing them into a cooler and replaced the lids snuggly. Mading sure all the cooler lids were tightly secured and I held up my hand to note the time on my watch. Realising I didn't wear a watch, I grabbed Evan's arm and noted the time using his watch. "One hour!" I yelled at Evan over the noise of the engines and rotors. After an hour had passed, I pulled a cooler open to check the temperature and was shocked to find it steaming hot. I opened a styrafoam box and found the food piping hot. Smiling I tapped the mic on and announced to the rest of the crew, "Chow time!" I unbuckled myself again, and found that moving about in the helo wasn't bad at all. I passed out the containers except, Tank, he flew while Justin ate his food. As soon as Justin would finish, Tank would eat his, and then they would both resume their normal flight related duties. I headed back to my seat, I glanced over and noticed Ranger watched me move about comfortably.

He hit the com button on his helmet, 'Babe. You look like you can manage moving about without problems. You should sit and eat, it's still a while before we hit Offutt."

I tapped my button and replied, "Yes, Carlos." I gave a mock salute and buckled myself into my seat, grabbed my meal container, and enjoyed my hot meal, thanking the kindness of Vanessa with every bite.

We decended slowly, giving me time to watch the guys pull out their ID's and prep themselves for the security check upon landing. I pulled mine out of my wallet and stuck it into my jeans pocket. Evan bumped me gently with his shoulder, grinned and uttered an all familiar phrase, "Are you all right?" I smiled and nodded my head, I was tired, I was dirty and I was nearly deaf from the noise of the engines, but I was okay. Justin received clearance to land and we floated over to the far side of the tarmac near three extremely large hangers and set down. Justin killed the engines as we sat waiting for security to board the helo to complete their checks.

While USAF Security Force boarded, I was distracted by one guy in particular, a tall lanky fellow with the typical close cropped hair, so typical of a military man. I leaned forward to read the name on his chest, and giggled with recognition. I tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, "Excuse me, I just wanted to know when was the last time you called your mother?" The look of shock and utter confusion splayed across the Master Sergeant's face, before a broad grin relaced it.

"Ma'am, I sorry but you're going to have to come with me." He winked, and led me by my arm out of the helo, leaving Evan and the guys growling with their displeasure.

I could hear Evan shouting at the Airman, "Staff Sergeant, she's with our crew!"

He walked us outside the helo, out of the line of sight, before I turned and threw myself into his arms. "Kevin Waltzinski! I can't believe it's you!" I withdrew a little before hugging him tightly again.

"Stephanie Plum! How are you? I haven't seen you since our high school graduation." He smiled, holding me back to get a good look at me. "Damn! Time has definately been good to you. Your body is smoking hot!"

I blushed and punched him lightly on the arm."I know, right? Look we better get back inside before you have eight extremely pissed bad asses kicking your butt." I pointed back to the helo.

"Sure, I don't want to piss any of those guys off anyway, they're yoked!" I smiled, he draped his arm over my shoulder as we walked back up the ramp. The other three Security Force guys, had guns drawn. All eight of my boys sat along one side of the helo, menacing glares in place, were effective in making the situation extremely uncomfortable. "Stand down!" Zin gave the order, "They're good."

The scowls of my boys were replaced by ones of confusion. After they jumped to their feet at my arrival, Ranger spoke in a quiet controlled manner, "Babe. You know him?" Wearing his normal blank face, his eyes shifted from me over to Zin. He did not fail to notice the arm slung casually over my shoulders.

I bounded over into Evan arms and replied, "Yup. All my life!"

Ranger raised his brow and chastised me, "Babe. You think you could have done without the theatrics? We almost had three bodies laying here before you returned." I noticed there was no laughter in his eyes, he was dead serious. I looked around and noticed that all the guys had lost the light in their eyes. They had been genuinely concerned for me, worried I might be detained for some unknown reason.

I frowned and whined, "But Ranger... Zin and I lived next door to each other growing up. He would never hurt me." I looked into Evan's scowling face, "Really! I used to sneak over to his house when I was little so we could play with his G I Joe's."

"Angel, maybe you should introduce us to the good Staff Sergeant?"

"Oh, ok." I turned to Kevin, "Everybody, this is Staff Sergeant Kevin Waltzinski. But growing up we all called him Zin." I turned from Kevin and faced the guys, "Zin... these are the fine men of Rangeman Inc. Trenton's finest security company." I went down the line introducing each man. "Owner and first in command, Army Major Ranger Manoso. Second in command, Army Captain Tank La Rouche, Core member Army Captain Lester Santos, Core member and Combat Medic Army Captain Bobby Brown, our resident chemistry expert and Aquatic Extraction Specialist Lieutenant Hal Walker USN, our explosives expert Lieutenant Cal Daughtry USN, and our new Helo pilot Army Chief Warrant Officer Justin Ramsey." I turned in Evan's arms and looked up into his captivating green eyes, "And last but not least, this is Army Captain Evan Ramsey, our resident Weapons Specialist, and my fiancee'." I smiled at the last part, watching Kevin's face light up.

He shook hand with everyone appologising for his previous action of removing me from the helo. "Please Sir's call me Zin, it's easier than saying Waltzinski. I'm sorry about taking Steph outside, it's just I haven't seen her in fifteen years." He scratched the back of his head looking pretty sheepish. "Guess, from what I heard from my mom, Steph really does need a contingent of men to protect her."

I winced at what he just said. But before I could say anything, Ranger and Evan both barked with laugheter and said in unison, "You have no idea." I laughed outloud and hugged Evan a little tighter.

Ranger recovered quickly from the laughter and ordered, "Santos get on the fuel situation with Justin. Tank, Hal, Cal, and Bobby get us a set of wheels. Ram and Steph see about getting us rooms at the hotel." A chorus of 'yes sir' sounded and we turned to leave the helo.

Zin tagged along with us, suggesting to Ranger, "Major, I can help you here on base. I can act as a liason if you think it would be advantagous to you and your men."

"Do it. Get us two Humvee's and eight hotel rooms here on base ASAP." He handed Zin a business card with his cell number written on the back. "Call me when you're done. I'll be waiting." He turned and walked away, heading towards the fuel truck that was pulling up to the helo. Zin practically ran from us and headed to his truck parked a ways off. He returned to us not more than five minutes later, smile on his face and a spring in his step.

"Major, two troop carrier Humvee's ready to be picked up from motor pool in 10, eight officer rooms waiting for you at the hotel, and I have procurred you access to snacks, drinks and entertainment during your time here. The Base Commander would like to meet with you in his office in 30. Is there anything else you require, Major?"

Ranger turned to walk towards the truck Zin had arrived in and barked at him, "Yes. Need a ride to the motor pool, Master Sergeant."

Zin jumped, saluted and stated, "Yes, Sir." When he pulled his truck around to us, he and Ranger sat in the front, while the rest of us piled into the bed, with Hal and Cal swinging their legs over the edge of the open tailgate. We received double takes, bug eye'd looks and the typical open stares as we puttered across the base, it's not everyday you see a truck load of huge bad asses and a bad ass woman riding in the bed of a USAFSF truck. Noticing the building sign for the hotel, I mentally jotted down the building number in my memory bank, I would need that later. Zin's full sized security truck strained under the combined weight of everyone, but still managed to make it across the base to the motor pool. After we had keys in hand, Ranger turned to Zin, "Master Sergeant, directions to the BCO?" Zin hopped to and drew them a map, Tank nodded and took the map in his gigantic hands. "Where is the hotel?" Ranger asked Zin, sounding slightly tired.

I piped up, suprising everyone. "It's in building 2942, about half way back to the flight line. I saw it when we passed by driving here." I gave my best pissy look and teased Ranger. "You should be more aware of your surroundings, Ranger."

A smile crept over his face, as he rolled his eyes, burg style. "Babe."

Lester was dying of laughter, "The teacher just got schooled by the student!" Ranger reached out and slapped Les on the back of the head effectively shutting him up.

"Ouch! Look like that hurt, Santos. Next time don't stand so close to Ranger when you pop off with something that stupid, Dumbass!" Bobby chastised him frowning.

I giggled and rolled my eyes much better than Ranger ever could. "Let's go. I'm beat. I need a shower and some sleep." I turned to Zin gripping him in a massvie hug. "Zin, when are you off?"

He shrugged, "Not until you leave, I guess. My base commander told me that I'm a liason for you all, unitl then. But I can talk and hang out when you want to. If your fiancee' is cool with that? Lieutenant?" He looked at Evan for confirmation, when Evan nodded, Zin's face lit up. "Thank you, Sir. Gosh, Steph. It's so good to see you. I've only gone home once since Dad died and that was for the funeral only. Could you catch me up with everything you've been up to before you leave?"

"Sure Zin. After I get some sleep, I must look like hell, because I sure feel like it." I snorted when I felt my hair poofed out in a huge fro. "OH, God! It's bad. I need to hit the showers NOW!"

Evan patted my back, "Easy Angel. We'll get there in a bit. Ranger's about to hand out assignments."

Ranger, had bags under his eyes, his face looked worn from a long trip, barked to us his wishes, "Tank and I are headed to the BCO's office. The rest of you head to the hotel. I'll call Brown to get the keys for my and Tank's rooms when I return. Get some sleep. We load back into the helo at 2200," He looked straight at me, "You don't show, we don't wait." And with that he turned and walked to one of the Humvee's with Tank in tow. He shouted over his shoulder as he angled into the driver's seat, "Master Sergeant! You're on call, give Steph your cell number so I can call you if I need you. Dismissed." Zin saluted and stood watching Ranger drive away. Evan's phone beeped noting a text message had been received. He flipped it open and read it, smiling.

"Zin, Ranger says, Thanks." Zin smiled and nodded his head. "Well, Angel. Let's get the guys to the hotel, I bet they're as anxious to shower and sleep as you are."

"Not even close. But we have a problem. Our bags are still in the helo." I frowned, creases formed below my eyebrows where they knitted together.

"Not a problem. They were taken to the hotel already. They should be waiting at the front desk for you." He turned to Evan, "Captain, the BCO says not to worry about the rooms. They're the nicest on the base. And he don't worry about being on inactive duty, the rooms will not be charged to Rangeman. BCO's orders." Evan nodded his head and took my hand in his smiling.

"Thank you Zin. And by the way, since I'm not active duty right now, you can call me Ram." The guys mobbed around us a moment later after hearing bits and pieces about hotel rooms.

Les's shoulders drooped slightly, "Beautiful, are you ready to hit the hay?"

"Yes. After a warm shower. It's been 24 hours since we lifted off from Helena, I need sleep, NOW!" Les chuckled and opened the door to the HumVee. The drive to the Hotel was silent as the weight of the last 24 hours took it's toll. Justin had already fallen asleep in his seat, as most of the guys had. Only myself, Evan and Hal, who was driving, were still awake. We pulled into the hotel parking lot and I woke the guys. I quietly and gently shook each one awake and told them we were at the hotel and to get out. With only Bobby, left to wake I ushered the rest to go get our rooms, while I woke him. "Bobby. Bobby Honey. It's time to get up. We're at the hotel. Honey, wake up." He refused to budge, his dark eyes were still closed, his breathing hadn't changed. Mad as all hell, I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Brown Report!" Bobby jerked awake and glanced around wildly looking for the person who had commanded him awake. His sleep glazed eyes rested on me after a few moments, before he groaned, "Bomber, I'm awake. I'm awake. I was just resting my eyes."

"Mmm hmm. Right and I'm the Queen of England. Now get up, the guys just went in to get our rooms. Don't you want a nice comfy bed to snuggle into?"

"Yeah. Too bad you're not going to be in it. I sleep really good next to you, Bomber. Remember when you made me sleep in your bed at the hospital the first time you fell off a roof? You were so scared, you didn't want to be alone. Lucky me." He may have smiled at the memory, but I grimmaced at it. I had chased a skip onto the flat roof of his parent's house, no problem, right? Wrong! It turned out it was slick from rain and as I cornered the skip, he turned and dropped down the drain pipe to the ground. I thought what the hell, he did it, I can do it. I mean I used to do it all the time when I snuck out of my house as a teenager. I started to climb over the edge, but slipped and fell to the ground, on by back, banging my head against the concrete knocking myself out. I woke up in the hospital, three days later, Bobby holding my hand. Ranger was in the wind, and so Bobby, Evan and Tank were there for me. That first night I was scared I wasn't going to want to wake up if I fell asleep, so I asked Bobby to watch over me. He was supposed to stay awake and check on me every four hours, but he fell asleep laying next to me on the bed, reading me a story. We both slept great that night, feeling alert and refreshed the next morning. But somew time in the middle of the night I heard Bobby talking in his sleep. "I love you Bomber. I'll love you for all time. I've loved you since day one. Please say you love me." He mumbled something else, before he sighed, snuggled into my shoulder and started to snore lightly.

I shifted back from Bobby slightly, patting his hand, at that moment my grimmace turned into a smile and I hugged Bobby. "Thanks Bobby, You always know how to take care of me. I love you for that you know." He blushed slightly, giving an 'aw shucks' look at me. "Now get your ass up and get in your room. I need to sleep."

We found Evan waiting for us in the front lobby, he handed Bobby his key, and two others for Tank and Ranger's rooms. Bobby collected his medic bag and his personal bag then headed off to his room. Evan placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the elevator. I slumped against the wall as it rose to the second story, listening to the groaning of the cables as it strained under our weight. As the doors opened with a little _**ding, **_Evan picked up our bags off of the floor of the elevator and motioned for me to follow him. I dragged my feet to the door marked 210, and stood in place as Evan swiped the keycard in the electronic lock. The lock retracted with a gentle click, and we entered our room. I flopped down onto the king sized bed, groaning in exstacy, from the feeling of something soft under me. Struggling to strip myself bare, I grunted with the effort to tug my boots, socks and jeans off. Evan chuckled and asked me, "Angel, you want some help?"

I nodded and allowed him to pull my shirt off. I unhooked my bra and slipped my panties off, whenI turned I found Evan stark naked waiting for me to head to the bathroom. He picked me up and carried me in, setting me on the counter, he turned the shower on. A moment later when the water was just right, he carefully lifted me into the shower and climbed in after me. We washed each other lovingly, his fingers massaged my scalp with both shampoo and conditioner, after rinsing off we towel dried ourselves off. I changed into one of Evan's huge t-shirts and he into a pair of boxers. We both fell into the bed, exhausted. Evan set the alarm on the nightstand and his watch for 1800, giving us a good eight and a half hours of uninterupted sleep. I snuggled into Evan as he pulled me close in a tight embrace. "I love you Angel."

"I love you too, Evan. Goodnight."


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: JE owns her characters I'm just playing with them. I promise to return them when I'm done. I do not profit from this work.**

**Chapter 23**

_**Beep Beep Beep... Beep Beep Beep... Beep Beep CRASH!**_

I raised my head up off of the pillow just enough to see that Evan threw the alarm against the wall opposite of the bed. "Baby, we need to get up."

"Ungggggh!" I heard the moan and watched him roll over and pull the covers over his head. Evan's muffled voice sounded from under the covers ,"Angel. I feel like I've been dropped off a ten story building."

I patted part of the laegre lump under the covers that I was pretty certain was Evan's shoulder. "Baby, we gotta get up and dressed. Remember you promised me a hot meal. Now get your ass up." I teased. Tossing my duffle onto the bed, I pulled out a pair of black panties, black bra, pair of black socks, and a clean black stretchy t-shirt. I grabbed the pair of black cargos I wore yesterday and tugged them on after I dressed in the rest of my clothes. I waltzed into the bathroom, determined to tames my wild mess of hair into some sembelnce of order. I tried brushing it into a ponytail but gave up and wound my hair into a simple french twist. I applied minimal makeup, but made sure to swpie an extra layer of mascara onto my eyelashes as well as a sheer pink lipgloss onto my pouty lips. I watched the reflection of Evan clad only in boxers walk into the bathroom, past me and into the shower. I heard the water turn on and a manly shriek. I giggled and waited for Evan. A moment later I heard the water shut off and Evan, towel wrapped around his waist, boxers in hand walked out very much alert and dripping wet. "Awake now?" I laughed softly watching him run his hand over his short spikey hair, it threw tiny water dropplets in all directions.

"Cold water, does the trick every time. Most of the time when I do it, it's an ice cold bottle of water dumped over my head and down my back." He dropped his towel and molded his still wet body against mine, "But who can resist getting naked around you?" He nibbled the back of my neck, moaning I twisted around to kiss his soft supple lips. I felt his tongue part my lips as it slid inside and met with mine, playing a game of give and take, hide and seek. He broke the kiss, beathing heavy, 'Angel, I better get going if we're going to meet the other guys for chow." I swatted his bare ass as he pedaled off to the bedroom.

After he had dressed as my twin, Evan called Lester on the phone. After a moment he barked into the phone, "Santos get up. Chow!" He snapped the phone shut, grabbed my hand and lead me out the door and down four rooms. He knocked, no answer.

I looked at him and shook my head. "I don't think he wants to get up. Can we get into his room?" Evan nodded and jogged off to the stairwell. Two minutes later, he returned and held up an electronic key card, he slipped it into the lock and waited a moment before he opened the door.

We snuck in and found Lester sprawled across the bed on his back, pillow held over his head with his arms. I held up a finger to my lips to Evan making sure he would remain quiet, I slid into bed next to him and wrapped my arms around him pulling him close. He moaned and one of his arms snaked out and pulled my closer to him. I winked at Evan, then slid my fingernails across his bare abs, watching them contract under my hand. He moaned and I could see his reaction to my touch, Little Lester was waking up. I silently giggled, my body shaking from my pent up laughter. I raised my hand high, palm open and smacked him on the middle of his stomach hard. He sat up, holding his middle, and groaned. "Santos! Get your ass up. WHat the hell are you doing in bed with my Angel?" Evan yelled right into Lester's face. Les's eyes grew wide and his head whipped around to look at me laying on my side, leg drawn up, head propped up on my hand. I gave a finger wave and giggled.

"Les, you better get up. It's time to get chow." I stood up and wrapped my arms around his hulking frame as he sat on the bed.

"Fuckers! Man, I had to spend three hours sitting on the helo while they finished fueling. I didn't get to spend the last," He checked his watch, "nine hours cudded up to a sexy brunette." Evan flipped him off and laughed.

"Santos, you woke up in bed with Angel. And you're complaining about it? Forget it, she'll never do that again." He teased.

"Waking up to you Beautiful was heaven, minus the fact you gave me pink belly." He grimmaced and rubbed the visibly pink hand print on his abs. "I gotta get dressed, Beautiful you and Ram can stay if you want, I'll dress in the bathroom. He stood up, reached for his clothes and hobbled into the bathroom. Ten minutes later he emerged still slightly sleepy. "Can't seem to wake up. And to think we still have another 20 hours before we get home. I'll be glad when I can flop into my own bed tomorrow night."

"Aww, Les are you still tired and cranky?" I asked hugging his massive well muscled waist. "I know..." I pulled his face down and placed a wet kiss to his cheek. "There, that should get you up and going." His eyes popped open and he looked reenergized, he bounced around lightly on the balls of his feet, stretching his neck muscles by rolling his back and forth first touching one shoulder then the other. "I knew it. Just a little motivation was all you needed."

We caught up with the other guys sitting down in the lobby reading newspapers. Hal glanced up and smiled at me, "Look who finally decided to get up."

I stuck my tonuge out at him, "I wasn't the last one up. In fact I was up before these two." I pointed to the two men standing beside me. "Leter was the last one up. I had to give him a pink belly to get him to wake up." I giggled as Les pulled up his shirt enough so an anrgy red handprint on his stomach was visible to the others. "Someone needed a little motivation." Cal guffawed at him and shook his head. A moment later Ranger finished his paper and raised up out of his chair.

"Gentlemen and Lady, chow time." He lead our way out of the hotel and to the Humvee's. Sitting down to a hot meal that wasn't on the helo was so nice. I finished my plate of decent spaghetti with garlic bread, and green beans and slid over my bowl of warm bread pudding with caramel rum sauce. I hadn't finished my first bite when I noticed that all the guys had stopped eating and were watching me. I guess I hadn't cared about stopping my moan, because it erupted without censorship.

I pulled the spoon from my mouth, and grinned sheepishly."Sorry." The guys shifted uncomfortably in their seats and Tank gumbled something along the lines of 'tease' in my direction. I finished my dessert without so much as a sigh and pushed back in my chair enjoying the feeling of a full stomach. "Hey Tank?"

He lifted his head from his coffee cup as he was about to take a drink, "Yeah Babygirl?"

"When are we expecting to make it to Trenton tomorrow?"

"Barring any complications, ETA is around 1430. Why?"

I fidgited in my chair, I wanted to talk to Juniak about Morelli." The guys all stopped and stared at me like I was insane.

"Angel. Why?" Evan asked, his green eyes searching mine.

"So she can get a grasp of how TPD is handling him." Ranger answered flatly. He knew why I wanted to talk to Joe Juniak, he knew I was nervous and afraid Morelli would do something desperate. "She needs to know that we're all on the same page when it come to him."

I nodded and sighed, my shoulders sagged under the weight of not knowing what was going to happen with the Morelli situation. "I just need peace of mind that they will back me up when I need it. Like I know you guys will." I smiled at the guys surrounding me. "I lvoe you guys. You know that right?" The smiles that surrounded me made me feel warm and I needed that right now. I could feel my courage starting to slip the closer we got to Trenton, and I could use any additional help I could get. "Thanks guy."

We left the mess hall and headed back to our hotel to pack and load up the Humvee's with our gear. Ranger called Zin. "Master Sergeant, I need you to meet us at the helo. We need to talk to a few experts before we load the helo." He snapped the phone shut and angled into the huge vehicles. After packing our gear, we dropped the key cards off at the front desk and left the building.

Angling out of the Humvee's we stepped out onto the tarmac next to the helo. Zin was leaning against his truck waiting for our arrival. "Major. What did you need today?"

"I need to know about making this helo armor plated and adding additional weapons other than what it normally is equiped with."

"Sir, five minutes and I'll have an armor expert and weapons specialist here." Ranger nodded and walked back to where we were lounging on the ramp of the helo. Justin was giving it a thorough inspection, top to bottom. Five minutes later Zin was walking ahead of us walking into the massive hanger closest to our helo. "They are expecting us inside. Right this way, Sir." He walked ahead of us, stepping through the massive rolling door, left open about ten feet wide. The Sergeant standing over a desk, stood gave Ranger a salute and barked, "Sir!"

"At ease. I don't expect anyone to salute me when I'm not in uniform." He shook his head. "I need to talk to you about what I can add to teh helo to make the armor thicker and capable of carrying more weapons. Make no mistake, it's not going to be used for jaunts to the country. It needs to be able to withstand a direct hit. Make it happen."

The Sergeant looked at Ranger in awe. "Sir. We will draw up the plans and have something for you to consider in a matter of an hour."

"45 minutes. I still need to go over it with the pilot."

"Sir, yes Sir." The sergeant turned on his heels and ran back to a small conference room along the back wall of the hanger, where two other men were waiting. I watched as the Sergeant explained what Ranger wanted and they quicly got to work. We walked back to the helo and I sat on the ramp while Evan, Hal and Cal threw a football back and forth between them to stay busy. Lester lay down next to me, nudging me with his arm, "Beautiful. What's the matter? Bored?"

"Yeah, the flights seem to be getting longer and I've run out of things to think about. When I dream all I can dream about is eating an unlimited mountain of Tasty Cakes." I pouted, sticking my lower lip out.

He patted me on my shoulder and handed me his MP3 player. "It may not have everything you listen to, but it will have a majority of it. I got bored with it last night." He snickered, "Be forewarned, there is some classical and salsa, but you can skip it if you want to. I think you'll like my mix, I have Godsmack, Metallica, AC/DC and a few others I know you listen to on there. I never used to listen to it, until I started hanging out with you." He rolled his eyes.

"Thanks Les. I appreciate it." I kissed his cheek and leaned back against him. Suddenly Les stood up and came to attention, I noticed the other guys had as well. A towncar pulled up next to us and an older man dressed in his service blues exited and stood straightening his jacket. Ranger advanced saluting, "General Rodgers."

He shook Ranger's hand and turned to the others giving a dismissive salute. "At ease." He turned back to Ranger, "Major, is this your crew?" He eyeballed the guys first, and then rested his gaze on me. "Miss Plum. I have heard so many good things about you." He came over and shook my hand gently, placing his second hand over the first. "I do have to say the description that Major Manoso gave me of you, did not do you justice." He leaned forward, as I blushed. "Please tell me, do you really blow up Manoso's vehicles?"

I stammered out, "But... but it isn't always my fault." He laughed and patted my hand, which was still encased in his.

"Miss Plum, I wanted check to make sure my men have treated you well, and to wish you all a safe flight."

"Thank you General. We appreciate that. I have to say I have been very happy with the service that Master Sergeant Waltzinski has shown us. He has always delivered with the timeframe he quotes and has gone above and beyond what was expected from him. I hope you take that in consideration next time he comes up for a promotion."

I turned and looked at Ranger, "I'm sure Major Manoso would be happy to write a little note in appreciation to be placed into Waltzinski's file." Ranger smiled, knowing I was trying to help Zin out.

"Miss Plum, I am sure that Waltzinski will be rewarded for his hard work and dilligence. Thank you."

"General, I would like to thank you personally for taking care of us. We are a long way home and to know we were treated so well by you and those on your base was refreshing." I smiled my best sweet smile.

"It was nothing, my dear. To be able to meet the famous Major Manoso and his men has been memorable, but to meet the famous Bombshell Bounty Hunter herself has been the icing on the cake." I blushed a deeper red. I tugged him towards Evan who approached us.

"General, I'd like for you to meet my finacee'." He released my hands and shook Evan's hand after he was saluted. "General, this is Army Captain Evan Ramsey." "Evan I want you to meet General Rodgers, Base Commander."

"Nice to meet you, Sir."

"Captain, You sure have your hands full with this one. Take good care of her, she's an angel."

"Yes, Sir." Evan nodded as the General turned to make his way back to Ranger.

"Major, I assume my men have finished the plans you asked for." Ranger nodded towards the approaching airman, who stopped and saluted at attenion until the general gave a halfhearted salute and waved him forward.

"Sir's. I have the plans as ordered." He thrust the paper towards Ranger and backed away a few steps. "The conference room is set up and waiting for you, Sir." Ranger and the General turned and walked to the hanger. Ranger called over his shoulder, "Tank,Justin, you'll need to look at these." The four men were followed by the airman.

I turned to Zin, "He seems nice."

Zin shook his head, "He's a bear to work for. But it could be worse. I could be out of a job." I nodded, and patted his back.

While Ranger and the general conferred over the proposed plans, we played a little football. Cal and Hal were captains and picked teams. Cal picked Zin, Hal picked Evan, Cal picked Bobby, Hal picked Les, and I was designated quarterback. Cal scooped me up hugging me, "Bomber, will you kiss my skull for good luck?" I grinned and planted a huge wet kiss right in the middle of his forehead.

Hal pouted, "Bomber, that's no fair. Make it even, can you kiss me for good luck?" I placed my hands on my hips and looked Hal like he was crazy.

Evan chuckled, "Angel, just kiss him so I can kick Brown's ass." I grabbed Hal's shirt and tugged his face down to mine. I planted a kiss right on his lips, he relented and kissed me back. I pulled away and he stood there stooped over, eyes closed, in a daze. "You know I meant a quick peck, Angel. Now he's so out of it, I doubt we'll win."

I giggled and teased back, "Fine. Winners get kisses from me." I swatted Hal on the ass, "Now get out there and make sure your team wins."

"Hal, get your ass in gear. We better win, because I'm not missing out on a kiss from Beautiful!" Lester barked at Hal, bringing him out of his stupor. I was tossed the ball and the game was on.

Suprisingly throwing the football proved not that hard for me, I know I had a couple of flubs in the begining, but by the end of the game I was kicking ass. I was throwing passes close to 35 yards when we called the game too close to call. The guys were either slumped onto the ramp or doubled over breathing hard when we finished.

"Beautiful, it's time to collect our reward. Since we called it a tie, we all get our kisses, don't we?" He pleaded, waggling his eyebrows.

"Les, I knew you'd be the first to try to collect on my kiss. Come here." I opened my arms drawing him close and planted one right smack on the lips. I pulled back and let him go, noticing he was pouting.

"No fair. Hal got the whole sha-bang! Why not me?" He ran his hand through his caramel colored hair, leaving it tousled.

"Because, Hal needed it. Besides, all my really good kisses are Evan's." I plastered a wide grin across my face and looked right at Evan. "Alright who's next?"

After all the guys had their prize, I walked into Evan's warm and muscular arms. He stole a quick glance at the guys before he kissed me while he dipped me, leaving me breathless and feeling like a pile of goo. I think I heard someone in the background groan and mutter, 'lucky bastard', before he righted me. I stood for a moment trying to regain my balance and my bearings. Both Les and Bobby wer're grining from ear to ear. I blushed when I realised we had a captive audience, turning my face into Evan's chest in embarassment. Lester picked up the football and struck a pose similar to the famed Heisman trophy, and I burst out laughing.

Soon after, we we're lounging on the ramp, waiting for our departure, when the flightline lights came on illuminating the whole area. Ranger, Tank, Justin and the general all came walking out discussing the plans. "General, I'm sure this plan is feasible. Just a few modifications and we can start to outfit her." Justin assuaged the General's misgivings about the plans. "She can handle a lot more that the average helo."

"Son, I sure you know your helo's, but I want to make sure that Ms. Plum stays safe."

"General." Ranger cut him off. "She is an employee of Rangeman just like the rest of us. She takes just as many if not more risks than the rest of us. She will be entirely safe, I can assure you."

"Major, I have to be honest with you. I've known about Ms. Plum for a long while. My nephew works at Trenton PD, and I've heard stories about her since she brought in her first man. I wait all year to hear about her latest escapades, I was shocked when you told me she was here with you, Major." He turned to me. "Ms. Plum, I made a phone call to my nephew this morning, and was informed of the dangers of your chosen profession. I learned of your numerous stalkers and crazies, I also learned of a certain Detective that has been stirring the pot so to speak. In some small way I can help contribute to your safety, than I am glad to do so." He held my hand and squeezed it. "I just want you to be safe, no matter what you choose to do with your life, my dear."

I smiled at him and patted his hand, knowing that yelling at a two star general was not the smart thing to do. Diplomatically, I told him, "General, the secret to my sucess, are these men. I would never have had the run I've had at being a BEA if it weren't for them. They keep me safe, even when I ask them not to." I glanced around at my boys, "They are the cream of the crop and I wouldn't feel as safe around anyone else. I appreciate the care and concern, it's touching." I patted his hand again. "Now, General. Who might your nephew be?"

"Carl Costanza, my dear. I married his aunt Rachel." I nodded with a huge smile.

"I know Carl, we graduated high school together. He was one of my closest friends in high school. Small world." I giggled and walked him to his car. "General, the next time you come to Trenton to visit you look me up, I'd love to talk to you again."

"Goodbye, my dear. Take care."

"Goodbye, Sir." General Rodgers turned to the men behind us and gave a quick salute before getting in and the car drove away. "Carl is SOOO dead when we get back!"

"Steph? What did he mean by stalkers and what's a BEA?" Zin asked a little confused. I sighed and started to tell him the abreviated rundown of my life for the last four years. The guys milled about listening to my story adding anything I forgot to mention. Ranger was still pouring over the plans for the helo when I finished a half hour later. "So you mean to tell me you dated Morelli? He took you god damn virginity behind the fucking eclair case at the bakery!" He shouted, eyes blazing, his hands waving in the air. "And now you pissed him off? Jesus Christ Steph!" He turned to Evan and Ranger, "You better put her in some type of a safehouse. That mother fucker is crazy! I saw him carve up some shithead in a bar the night I came back for my dad's funeral. You gotta keep her safe!" Zin was beside himself, he sat down on the edge of the ramp putting his head in his hands.

Ranger walked over and clapped his hand on Zin's shoulder, "Welcome to the club." He chuckled, "We all worry about her. But nothing you can do short of trying her up and drugging her can get her to stop what she so obviously loves to do. We just buy maalox by the case, it helps with the ulcers." I sat back observing their exchange, anger brewing inside me. I held back knowing that it would do no good to take my anger out on them.

I fidgeted with my fingers, and cleared my throat. "I know it's a lot to take in, but you have to trust me Zin." I added quietly, "Do you trust me?"

He sighed loudly, running his hands over his head and face. "I trusted you enough not to steal my GI Joes when we were little, so I guess I can trust you now. I just want you to watch your back when it come to Morelli. Please?" He begged me, holding my hands in his. "I don't know what I would do if he hurt you, Steph. I'd probably kill him."

I snickered and pointed to the guys with my thumb, "Stand in line." He shook his head and laughed.

"You know something?" He mused, his face looking skyward, "I always wondered why the General had Tasty Cakes in his office. I guess having family in Trenton having access to them is easy. I didn't know people out here even knew about them."

My face dropped and my mouth began to water, "Tasty Cakes?" I started to cry, and I don't mean a little sniffling, I mean full out bawling and sobbing. I ran into Evan's arms and sank down.

Zin looked confused, "What did I say?"

Lester patted him on the back, "Tasty Cakes, man. Tasty Cakes. They're her favorite and she hasn't had one in like almost a week. It's killing her. You wouldn't know how to get your hands on any would you?" Upon the mention of those scrumptious chocolatey treats I wailed loudly.

Zin shook his head. "The closest we have here are nasty, they use chocolate substitute, even the kids around here won't eat them they're so bad." I sobbed harder and collapsed in a heap onto the ramp.

Ranger sighed and walked to his duffle sitting the closest to the ramp. He unzipped the bag, rummaged around for a moment and pulled something in a plastic grocery bag out. He knelt down to me and rubbed my shoulders. Evan was on the ramp beside me and had pulled my onto his lap, consolling me. Ranger whispered into my ear, "Babe. All you had to do was ask." And he laid the bulky bag in my lap, I stopped long enough to tug the edge of the bag back and shriek. I stood up, danced around in a circle and hugged Ranger, and then hugged Evan.

"Thank you Carlos! There is a God!" I ripped the box open and pulled out an individually wrapped Tasty Cake. I tore the plastic and shoved almost the entire cake into my mouth. I moaned and grabbed another cake from the box.

Evan stopped my hand, "Angel, pace yourself. It's been six days since you've had one, and I don't want you getting sick from all the sugar. Please, one more then put the rest away for later." The guys had watched me, totally horrified at what they had witnessed, never had they seen a woman tear into a food like I had. For us women, it's no big deal, we've all seen a woman we know go through something like this, whether it was sweet or salty treats. But for them it was new territory. Even Evan was shocked at the ferocity I had attacked the box that held the sweet treats. My eyes glazed over and I sat in sweet contentment from the combination of sugar and chocolate. Evan had to pry the box from my hands quite forcibly, and set it next to me.

Zin was shocked, "Is she always like this?" he asked.

Ranger nodded his head, "This is the very reason I carry emergency Tasty Cakes with us every time we go somewhere with her." He admitted, "I even have a stash of them in my office for her if she needs one."

All the guys laughed, "Bossman, I think we ALL have an emergency stash of those in our desks as well. Never can be too careful when Babygirl is on the prowl for chocolate." Tank confessed. "I can't stand to see her like that. When it gets really bad she'll look at you like you're lunch. It's sadistic, evil almost."

I heard what Tank had said and turned my head slowly and deliberately to face him, "Tank. NEVER. EVER. GET. IN. THE. WAY. OF. A. WOMAN. WHO. NEEDS. CHOCOLATE!" He paled at that, well as much as a black man can.

Evan laughed and hugged me close. "Angel. Don't worry. No one will get in your way when you're looking for a chocolate fix, ever again."

Ranger looked at his watch and decided it was time for Justin to warm up the engines on the helo. I hugged Zin goodbye, "I'm sure you want to get back to your regular duties. When you do decide to visit Trenton, come see us, my parents would love to see you again."

Zin held me back and gripped my shoulders, "Remember what I said about Morelli. Please don't underestimate him." I nodded and hugged him again. I watched him load into his truck and drive to the edge of the tarmac to watch us take off.

I sat in my seat and tugged my helmet on, sniffling a little. "Angel, we can invite him to the wedding if you want to." Evan suggested, I turned and rubbed his knee, nodding while holding back tears. Justin started the engines and we sat while they warmed and he received clearance from the tower. After he the take off was granted, Justin nodded to Ranger and we lifted off the tarmac and into the sky headed on the next leg of our journey.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns the characters you recognize, and I own the one's you don't. I still do not profit from this work.**

**Chapter 24**

Grabbing the MP3 player from my pocket, I removed my helmet long enough to slip the earbuds into my ears. I leaned back into the seat and turned it on. I looked at the display and noticed there were several playlists, I scrolled through and noticed there were two listed with my name, Steph's Music and Beautiful. I selected the first playlist and was happy to hear Metallica blaring into my ears. I sat back and enjoyed the music for two hours before the list had completed it's run. I scrolled down to Beautiful and was shocked to find nothing but love songs and rock ballads. I sat back looking at Les while the songs played in my ears. I began to understand how deeply he loved me. _He must listen to this when he thinks of me_, I thought. _Lester really is in love with me. I love him, too. Just not that way._ I sighed and closed my eyes listening to the soothing music.

I opened my eyes, observing Lester, Bobby, Ranger and Evan all asleep. Hal was trying really hard to stay awake, but not having much luck. I was curious about the cockpit and decided to investigate a little myself. I unbubkled myself and made my way up front. Cal looked up from his post and smiled, "Hey, Bomber. Come to visit us?" I nodded and he flipped down an extra seat near him. "You can sit here, it's out of the way." I sat and buckled in, looking out of the front windshield I noticed most of the terrain was dark, except the occasional light from towns and cities in the distance.

"How much longer to Scott?" I asked Cal.

He checked his watch and smiled, "About another ten minutes. Justin already got clearance to land on an open field near the tower. We should be able to see the lights from the base in another three or four minutes." I beamed a smile at him and nodded. Soon, just as he predicted, I noticed a faint glow to our twelve o'clock position. They became brighter and soon revealed the sprawling Air Base known as Scott AFB. Cal allowed me to relay our impending decent to the team using the mic system.

"Guys. Wake up. We're landing. ETA two minutes." I turned to watch Evan wake up and search the interior of the helo for me. I jumped on the mic again. "Evan, I'm in the cockpit." He turned and looked relieved to see me sitting next to Cal. I watched as Justin guided us to the appropriate spot for us to land, and set us down gently. It was awe inspiring watching Justin at work, so focused, so in tune with the machine. He flipped a switch effectively killing the engines and turned to see me watching him.

"Kinda like a giant video game." He smiled and dug in his wallet for his ID.

I jokingly shot back, "Like the kind where you come back to life after you die when you crash? I think not." I unbuckled my belt and headed for my purse to retreive my ID.

After the USAFSF ran their usual security check on us, we were free to leave the helo. As we stepped our we were met by the BCO and an airman waiting for us near a set of Humvee's and the brass's car. The BCO strode over and gave us his usual introductions after salutes. We learned that the airman standing next to the General was our liason. Apparently General Rodger's from Offutt had called and given them a heads up on prior to our arrival. They had hot meals prepared and wating on us at a nearby hanger, as well as thermoses of hot coffee for our flight to Wright-Patterson AFB. We rode in the Humvee's driven by USAFSF, and ferried to the nearby hanger. We relaxed with a hot meal and watched part of a show about snipers on the military channel on the big screen tv in the office of the hanger. I started to nod off and had Evan carry me back to the center portion of the hanger to sit in his lap. Ranger appeared a few minutes later and saw me asleep on Evan's lap, "It's past her bedtime." He joked and patted Evan on the back gently. "Take her back to the helo, we'll be back there shortly, they just finished fueling up." Evan nodded, stood cradling me in his arms. and walked me out to a waiting Humvee.

Once back at the Helo, Evan set me down in a medivac litter and strapped it to the floor next to his seat using the built in cleats and tiestraps. He lovingly covered me with a heavy blanket, and sat down to catch some sleep. Ranger and the guys returned about 30 minutes later, careful not to wake me. Cal slipped my helmet on and strapped it tight. Hal took my seat along the side next to Evan and whispered, "Ram, man. You need to get some sleep, I'll keep watch on her." Evan shook his hand and lowered his head to his chest, to get some much needed sleep.

Hal sat back and thought back to the first time he had a run in with Bomber. He had been ordered to stop Bomber from leaving the building, and she came running down stairs to leave. Hal told her she couldn't leave under Ranger's orders, and he would stun her if it came to that. She looked at the stun gun and asked him if she could see it, she thought the batteries were dead. How wrong he was. She grabbed the stun gun touched it to Hal and pressed the button, he went down like a ton of bricks. When he came to, Bobby was waving smalling salts under his nose and smacking him, "You are so dead when Ranger finds out." Later she appologised again and again to Hal for stunning him, but the guys never did let it go. To this day they still tease Hal about Bomber stunning him. Hal smiled, lost in thought. It was always fun being around her, she was such a bright light in their dark and lonesome world. Bomber made Hal feel human again, she made him feel warm and fuzzy when she looked at him, and the dreams. The dreams! He never had a night without a dream about Stephanie. Some nights were nightmares, some nights he was just hanging out and having fun with her, other nights, and these were his favorite, they made love. He prayed every night that would be his dream that night, but sadly they were few and far between. It was then, sitting in the helo, that Hal realised he was in love with Bomber. He loved everything about her, her smile, her laugh, the way she wrinkled her nose when she smelled something good in the air. The total package, he was totally and completely in love with her. He understood that as long as she was intended for and married to Ram, she would never be his in the way he really wanted. But he would have to be content with loving her from a distance. Just being near her keeping her safe, would have to be enough for him. Sadly Hal knew he would never love another woman the way he loved Stephanie.

Hal shifted in his seat and looked down at the sleeping angel at his feet. She was so cherished and loved and she didn't even know it. He pulled the blanket over her shoulder where it had slipped and ran the back of his finger over her cheek, gently. She smiled in her sleep, sending a shockwave of love and longing through Hal. Hal shook off the longing portion of his emotions and held tightly onto the love. It was all he could do to keep from pouring his feelings out to her. Love her.

The helo decended, prepping to land at Wright-Patterson AFB. Justin received clearance to set down and we gently dropped onto the grass at the edge of an unused runway. We all held our ID's as we watched two trucks full of USAFSF decend upon us. They spilled out of the trucks and surrounded our helo, guns drawn. A small squad of three men boarded the Chinook, while we sat waiting for security to clear us, I noticed they looked nervous and aprehensive. I turned to Evan, "I don't think they like us here." Evan nodded noticing their odd behavior. The Sergeant that was in charge, asked for the man in charge of our crew, "Who's in charge?"

Ranger stood up, the USAFSF men swung their guns around aiming at him. "I am Sergeant. Army Major Manoso. These men are my crew."

The Sergeant narrowed his eyes, "And the woman?" He gestured with his thumb in a jerking manner.

"Also part of my crew." Ranger grew displeased with the line of questioning. "Is there a problem Sergeant?"

"Yes, Sir. You landed in a restricted area and we did not receive word that a civilian helo would be arriving." The Sergeant was snide with his remarks and wrinkled his nose in disgust at our group.

"Sergeant. Your BCO was notified by the Pentagon three days ago that we would be arriving for refueling and a quick layover. I suggest you make a call immediately!" Ranger growled. He was almost beyond being just pissed to being just plain mad, which I knew was not a good thing. AT ALL!

"Yes, Sir. I was not aware of that, Sir. I'll be back." He frowned and practically ran off the helo and to his truck, while the other two USAFSF stood guard.

Lester was trying to lift the mood, he turned to one of the airmen and joked, "Like you've never heard of us before. Rangeman Inc. Also known as Mercenaries R US."

The man's face went completely white, he then turned to his buddy, "Sarge is going to get his ass handed to him on a silver platter for this one. Do you know who these guys are? These are the guys that took out Al Tashir in Tikrit two years ago. They are Bad Ass man!" The other man's face lit up. The first man lowered his weapon, saluted Ranger, then stuck out his hand. "Major Manoso, Sir. Welcome to Wright-Patterson. I'm Senior Airman Kelo." He turned and pointed to the other man, "And this is Airman First Class McGee."

Ranger saluted and furrowed his brows, he tilted his head toward the Sergeant, "Not a nice start to our reception, but nice follow up." He gave one of his famous almost smiles, and watched a pale and nervous Sergeant return, giving him a salute.

"Major , my appologies. I was unaware of your prearrangements. The BCO will be here in 5, and the fuel truck is on it's way now, Sir."

"Name Sergeant." Ranger ordered.

"Sergeant Felon, Sir." Ranger raised his eyebrow in suprise, as I stiffled a giggle. _Did he just say felon?_

Ranger nodded and walked past him brushing up against him none too gently. "Justin and Cal. Refuel duty. Santos, Tank, Babe. Secure the helo. Ram, Hal, Bobby. Chow hall, retrieve enough for breakfast." He made a move to walk away before he stopped and added, "Make sure there is something full of sugar and chocolate for Stephanie." He smiled and walked down the ramp to wait for the BCO to arrive. We watched as Sergeant Felon walked behind him like a little puppy, following his every move. "Kelo! McGee!" Ranger barked, "I need you you two to chauffeur my men to the chow hall and back." They saluted and led Evan, Hal and Bobby to the extended cab truck.

A moment after they pulled away a dark blue Lincoln with those cute little flags over the front corners, pulled up to our position and parked. The driver jumped out and ran over to the rear door opening it for the BCO. A very lovely woman around the age of 40 stepped out dressed in her ABU, her hair cut into a very curt bob , makeup immaculate and a body to die for. She strode forward conficently, "Major, so good to see you again." She grimmaced at the Sergeant, "I'm sorry about the welcome committy. I'm gald you're here, I haven't seen you in ages."

"General Whitten, the pleasure is all mine." Ranger saluted her and laughed. "Jenny, it's been too long!" They reached each other and embraced in a short hug. I'm sure my mouth dropped open because Tank gently tipped his crooked knuckle upwards, under my chin, to close my mouth.

I whispered a hiss, "They know each other?" I raised my eyebrows as she asked about Julie, Ranger's daughter.

Tank whispered back in his deep vioce, "Let it go, Babygirl. She's just a friend. Remember you're Ram's girl now." I sighed and nodded my head, mad at myself for forgetting, even for a moment about Evan. She smiled and all her teeth showed white against her perfect skin. She and Ranger exchanged plesantries for a few minutes before they walked to her car, angled in and drove off. Tank moved to the cockpit of the helo and out of my sight. I sighed and turned to see Sergeant Felon watching me.

"Excuse me, Ma'am?" He asked in my direction, I ignored him. "Ma'am?" I turned my back to him and kept ignoring him. "Ma'am!"

I spun around, completely annoyed, "What, Sergeant? What do you need?" I looked at him with an annoyed stare.

He pointed to a set of chocks laying at my feet, "The chocks Ma'am. You forgot to place the chocks." I looked down and frowned, kicked the chocks and sighed.

I looked back to the Sergeant and smiled sheepishly, "Thanks." I paused for a moment, "Sorry for being such a bitch. We've been in the air on and off for the last 29 hours."

"Understood, Ma'am. If you have the helo secured, may I ask you a question." He asked cautiously, watching my reaction.

"Sure, I guess." I sighed out. "What do you want to know?"

"Why are you with the Major and these guys?" He asked, head tilted to the side slightly.

"He's my boss, and they're my coworkers." I shrugged my shoulders in the effort to say that was the end of the story, I just wanted him to stop asking questions.

Before he could ask any more Tank popped his head out of the side door, noticed Sergeant Felon badgering me and saved me, "Plum. You and Santos double check the weapons. NOW!"

I played along and saluted him, "Yes, Sir." I ran around the helo found Lester and tugged him inside the helo. "Captain Santos, Captain Tank ordered us to double check the weapons." I winked and grabbed the duffles holding our weapons.

Lester watched over my shoulder as Sergeant Felon peeked in. "I think he's got the hots for you Beautiful." He whispered, "Want me to make him back off?"

I shook my head almost inperceptibly, "Naw, I'll give Evan a really good kiss when he returns. That'll fix his wagon." I giggled and shook my head. We finished 'double checking the weapons' by pulling them out and putting them back into the duffles. We exited the helo and chilled out on the ramp, waiting for Evan, Bobby, and Hal to return with breakfast.

My stomach growled loudly and I grabbed at it with both hands. "Must feed the beast!" Tank chuckled. He lowered his voice so only I could hear him, "Sorry about ordering you around earlier, but I saw how that guy was talking to you and it made my skin crawl. I think he's got the hots for you."

I punched his arm lightly, "Thanks, Tank. He was bugging me. Wanted to know why I was with you guys." Tank eyed the Sergeant warily. Just then the USAFSF truck pulled up, Evan, Hal and Bobby got out balancing a bunch of food containers in their arms. The two security guys followed carrying containers as well. They walked over to us, oblivious to the stares of the Sergeant and set the containers onto the ramp.

I jumped into Evans arms planting a very hot and posessive kiss to his lips. Evan, shocked, but evidently pleased asked, "What was that for, Angel?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted Sergeant Jackass, over there," tilting my head in direction, "to know I am all yours." I smiled and wrapped my arms around his middle. He growled and shot a menacing stare in his direction.

"You're all mine Angel. All mine." He kissed the top of my head, embraced me tightly and swung me in circles. Ranger pulled up with the BCO as we talked, and Ranger noticed the as Sergeant gave us dirty looks.

"He been a problem?" Ranger watched as the Sergeant found something really interesting to look at in the distance beyond where we were stood.

I grimmaced, "Tank and I took care of it." Ranger gave me a look like he wanted me to explain. After I sighed, I continued, "He was grilling me on why I was with you guys in the first place. So Tank ordered me to double check the weapons with Lester. And I gave Evan a welcome back kiss, because Les thought he had the hots for me."

Ranger growled, and turned to the General. "I expect it will be taken care of?"

She frowned and nodded, "Severely. He has always been a hardass, he needs to learn a little grace and civility. Consider it done, Ranger."

"Thanks, Jenny. It was good to see you again." He smiled and shook her hand. She smiled and returned, "Safe journey."

"Head out." He nodded to Justin who returned after the fueling was completed. "Let's go home." With that we loaded up and I watched General Whitten call Sergeant Felon to her side. She was obviously yelling at him, his head facing forward, his hands ramrod straight at his sides, with his face turning red. I snickered and nudged Les with my shoulder, indicating that the Sergeant was getting his ass handed to him. We both shook our heads, then donned our helmets and buckled our seatbelts. Justin started the engines and recevied clearance for takeoff from the tower. Within 5 minutes we were airborn and headed on our last leg home.

**A/N: Growing up with a retired Air Force Mater Sergeant for a step-dad, I used to go to Travis Air Force Base near Fairfield, Ca all the time. I used my knowledge from those trips to describe the time on the air bases for Steph and the guys. Forgive me if it isn't completely correct, I used to space out a lot while on our weekly trips on base. I still live near the base and I know plenty of airmen, enlisted and commissioned. I did have to ask a few about the ranking systems as well as security on base, I'd love to thank them. Deputy Kirkland, Mr. York, Mr. Spencer, Mrs. Ollander and Ms. Breamer: You rock! Please R&R.**


	25. Chapter 25 & Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns the characters you recognize, I own the others. I do not profit from this work.**

**Chapter 25**

We ate in silence, save the occasional grunt, or in my case moan, and finished our breakfast. Justin ate while Tank manned the helo, and vice versa. I collected the garbage in a bag and stowed it securely in the webbed netting along the rear of the helo. I sat back down and plugged into Les's MP3, drowning out the noise of the helo and enjoyed the AC/DC tune. I woke up with around 20 minutes left before we started our decent into the outskirts of Trenton. I recognized where we were and started to get antsy. Evan noticed and held my hand, I squeezed it in anticipation.

"Lady and Gentlemen, welcome back to Trenton." Tank voiced over the mic, causing smiles to erupt in all the crew members aboard. I was nearly bouncing in my seat, wanting to touch New Jersey soil again. We circled the municipal airport at the edge of Trenton, where Ranger had his other helocopter based out of. Justin asked for and received clearance for him to land the Chinook near the Rangeman hanger. Raider, the current helo pilot, guided us into the appropriate spot, and Justin set us down. I sighed and stretched my arms and legs happy to know I didn't have to get back into the helo for another long leg. Tank flipped the engines off, we unbuckled our belts, and waited to walk off of the helo. Ranger gave the nod and Hal lowered the loading ramp. We strolled off of the helo, I dropped to my knees and against my better judgment, kissed the ground.

Lester was beside me. As he pulled me to my feet, he was laughed, "Beautiful. Why don't I get one of those?"

Evan wiped a smudge of dirt from the tip of my nose and shot back at Lester, "Because, Santos, she's got a real man." He smiled and dipped me into a massive kiss. He righted me a moment later, and gave Les a triumphant look. Lester gave Evan a lopsided smile back and shook his head while he walked around the side of the helo. "Angel, let's get our stuff unloaded." We grabbed our duffles, my overnight case and my purse and headed over to the waiting Rangeman SUV's. Hector leaned against the side of the first SUV. I dropped my bags and ran into his arms.

"Hermana!" He caressed my face with the back of his hand. He held me back at arms length, turned me in a circle and gave me a full once over. "Bueno." He nodded and walked over to fist bump Evan. The two of them loaded our gear into the SUV as I ran over and greeted Woody, who drove the other SUV.

"Woody! I missed you." Wrapping him in a hug, I tweaked his cheek. "Did you miss me?"

Blushing at the attention, he answered, "Bomber, we all missed you. Rangeman wasn't the same without you there. We had to arm wrestle to see who would come and get you." He showed off his incredibly huge biceps. "I won, can you tell?"

I giggled and felt his arm, raising my eyebrows. "So I guess Hector won, too?"

He shook his head, "Nope. He said he had dibs on the second spot. No one wanted to challenge him, so he got it." I laughed harder and smiled, I knew the other guys were terified of Hector, and he used it to his advantage. "Let's load up and headback. Zero is anxious to hand the reins back over to Ranger and Tank."

Evan and I hopped into Hector's SUV and waited as the rest of the guys divided up and got into their respected SUV's. The drive home to Haywood was uneventful. We pulled up to the gates for the underground parking at Haywood and watched the gate rise. After we pulled into parking spots, we finally got out and headed to the elevator. The ride up was agonisingly slow, and I wished I had taken the stairs. The doors popped open on 5 and a sea of black clad Rangemen waited for me. I kissed and hugged as many as I could before Evan led me down the hall to the conference room for the Core Team briefing. "Evan, why am I going? I'm not a Core member."

"Ranger wants you there." He shrugged his shoulders as to why and led my to the door. We entered and sat ourselves in adjacent seats at the huge table. We waited another 10 minutes before the rest of the team arrived.

Ella came in just before Ranger and brought trays of sandwiches and fruits. After setting them down she bent over and hugged me. "Steph, I'm glad you're home, Honey. I missed you."

I smiled and hugged her back, "I missed you too Ella.' My stomach decided it was a good time to growl again. "And so did my stomach." I giggled, patting my middle.

Ranger strode in with Zero right behind him, and they sat at the table. "Zero. Report." Ranger barked.

Zero, looked a little nervous, but spoke with a clear voice, "Bossman, nothing to report. No break ins, no false alarms, no problems. It was very quiet." Zero smiled. Ranger nodded and asked, "Morelli?"

"He hasn't made any waves. In the last week, he drove to work in the mornings, did his usual routine of patrolling Stark Street, investigated two murders and returned back to his house. Ordered a lot of Pino's and that's it. No visits except his mother and Grandma Bella, no trips to the store, no walk with the dog, nothing."

"Any word from Juniak?" Zero shook his head. Searching the faces of the men before me, I noticed they were all somber and quiet. Ranger turned to Evan and asked, "Ram, do you know why she's here?"

Evan shook his head, eyes narrowed and relplied, "No, Sir." Ranger nodded to Tank.

Tank walked over to the both of us and knelt in front of me. "Babygirl. I know you've worked hard to make it in this company. You've worked hard to make it as a BEA. And you've worked hard at breaking through the barriers we here at Rangeman have tried hard to put up around ourselves. You suceeded in winning our friendship, and our love." Tank turned to Evan, "Ram, you've shown that you are a trustworthy and loyal man. You put others above yourself time and time again. Man, you have proven yourself to us over and over." He sighed and patted my knee, "We here, in the Core Team, want to offer you both a place as a Core Member. You will receive part ownership of Rangeman, and a say in all matters." Tank stood and smiled at us with a wide toothy grin.

I turned to Evan, and in a flash had jumped into his arms tears streaming down my face. Evan patted my back, trying to soothe me as he sat with a cheshire cat grin. I wiped my tears and looked at Ranger, "Really? You're really making us both a part of Rangeman?"

"Babe. You and Ram have always been a part of Rangeman. Now it's in an official capacity." I rose out of Evan's lap and wrapped my arms around him, drawing him close.

"Carlos, I'll never forget this. Thank you." I turned to the rest of the Core Team, "Thank you all. I love you guys so much. I really feel like I'm home now." I smiled and hugged myself.

Evan rose and began to shake all their hands, thanking them for our good fortune. "Man, you guys... Thank you. Thank you." His voice had a small hitch in it and he looked at me to calm himself. I slid into his embrace and we stood there hugging each other for a few moments before I excitedly suggested, "Let's celebrate!" Lester, Bobby, Hal and Cal all looked at each other and said in unison, "Pino's!" I smiled and did a little happy dance, making the guys chuckle.

"Babe. Just promise me, no dancing on the tables and no karaoke." I gave Ranger my half assed salute and smiled. "And Babe... we'll work on your salute." Evan's laugh loud and clear, and echoed off the walls of the conference room. I smirked at him and turned to walk out the door. "Babe. Welcome to our little club."

"Thanks guys. I promise I'll try not embarass us." I winked and shot out the door before Lester could throw a paper wad at me.

Two hours later the majority of Rangeman had descened upon Pino's and the whole rear portion was a sea of black clad musclebound bodies. We all waited for Ranger and Tank to arrive, while Evan and I watched the front door. Lula and Connie both walked in the door and waved at us, and made their way back to our tables. "White girl, you said this was a celebration, what we celebrating? We missed you, Girl!"

Connie dropped her purse under her chair and sat, "What's the celebration Steph?" She narrowed her eyes trying to figure me out.

I held my head high and smiled, "Evan and I just made partners in Rangeman."

Puzzled, Lula asked, "Who the hell is Evan?"

Evan piped up, "Me." He sheepshly grinned, "Angel. Don't you have something else to tell them?" He winked and hugged me close. Both Connie and Lula looked at me with perplexed looks, their gaze shifted from my face to Evan's arms wrapped around me.

"Whitegirl, you done got yourself another Rangeman, didn't you! Ram is hot." Evan blushed as Lula looked at me with a tilted head, knowing there was more.

A shriek from Connie brought the laughter and chatter from the Rangemen to a halt, she snaked her hand out and captured my left hand in hers. "Steph! It's true! You got engaged?" She turned my hand back and forth making my ring sparkle and dance in the light. She looked right at Evan, "Ram, are you and Steph engaged?"

He smiled and nodded, "I asked her to marry me, and she said yes." His eyes twinkled with happiness as he looked down at my ring clad hand. He kissed the top of my head, and sighed in contentment.

"Gurl! You gonna have yourself some mini Ram's running around someday aren't you?" She giggled as she hugged me. She lowered her voice and leaned close to me, "What does Batman say about all this?" She looked genuinely nervous, as she scanned the room for him.

"He's good with it, Lula." I answered, "He gave us his blessings." I left it at that, not wanting to delve too deeply into our complicated relationship. "He's happy for us."

"He better be, or Ram here, will kick some Batman ass." She crossed her arms over her chest, "Then I'd kick his ass."

A firm voice sounded from behind Lula, making her jump. "Lula, Rangeman would hire you, if you could do that." She paled and started to stammer, "Batman..uh...I was only jokin'." We turned to see Ranger and Tank standing behind Lula, slight smiles across their faces. Lula scurried into the bathroom with Connie in tow.

"Ranger, be nice." I admonished, trying hard not to smile.

"Babe."

"Angel. We better order, the guys are getting restless." Evan suggested. We waved the waitress over and ordered pizza and beer for all, plus a green salad for Ranger. We sat waiting for our food, chatting, when Lula and Connie returned. They slid into their seats quiet and a little flushed from their blushing.

Evan decided to speak up and ask Connie, "Connie, we know you have your ear out for the Burg gossip. Heard anything about Morelli?" I stilled and turned to look at Connie, hoping for nothing but good news.

"I heard from Francis Hinsky's daughter, Meredith, that he's been paying off some guy to track you down. I don't know why? He knows you work and live at Rangeman." She explained.

"Connie, he's bound and determined to make me his. You saw the video my Grandma made of the last time we had a confrontation. I knew for a long time it was over, he doesn't want to accept it." I focused my attention on tearing up a napkin into a million little pieces, as Evan took my hands into his, squeezing them in reassurance.

"I still have it on my computer." She giggled, "Funniest thing I've seen in a long time. I thought the vein on his forehead was going to burst when your dad stepped in." She was holding her side as she laughed.

Lester asked, "Beautiful. You think he's dumb enough to try anything?" His wary eyes betrayed the smile on his face.

"I hope not." I snuggled into Evan's chest, enjoying the warmth and strength, "I hope not." At that moment two waitress arrived with tray full of pitchers of beer and frozen beer mugs. The men cheered and took it upon themselves to handout the mugs and pour the beer.

Ranger reached over and placed a full pitcher of beer in front of Evan. "Here, you're going to need it." He chuckled and went back to sipping his beer. Evan grinned wide and took up the unspoken challenge, he picked up the pitcher, placed it to his lips and in no time flat had drained it. He slammed it down on the table, making the napkin dispenser jump a little. Evan waved his hand to the waitress, held up five fingers and the pitcher and ordered five more pitchers of beer.

"Baby? I think you better not over do it like you did with Deeter's homebrew." I whispered into his ear.

He smiled and winked, "Angel. I promise I'll be good." He slung his arm over my shoulder as we chatted with the people at our table.

"Steph. Are you moving to Montana?" Connie asked, hoping I would say no.

"Eventually, but not anytime soon. Now that we're partners in Rangeman, it changes the game a little. I think we'll have a house there, but live here in Trenton."

"We need you Whitegirl! Don't leave us." Lula begged, "Don't you love us?"

I giggled, "Lula, I'm not leaving. Not for a long time anyway. Don't worry."

Just then the room became eerily quiet, as all the men in black stood and moved around me. Evan stood as Cal whispered into his ear, a menacing look covered his face. He turned to make sure I was behind him and safe. I grabbed Lula and Connie and pulled them with me totally behind the wall of black. "Morelli must be here." I peeked nervously between the black clad bodies to see that indeed, one Jospeh Morelli had entered Pino's. He stood just in front of the Rangemen, a sneer on his face.

"Where the FUCK is she?" He snarled, "Where is Stephanie?"

I straightened my back and pushed my way to the front, stepping between Morelli and my boys. "Morelli." I said with as much annoyance as I could. "I thought I told you, I want nothing more to do with you! Back off slowly and I won't press charges again for breaking the protection orders."

"Fuck the order. Cupcake, I lov..." He began to beg, holding his hands out in a pleading gesture.

"NO MORE CUPCAKE MORELLI!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "You had your chance. You fucked it up. You can go back to your miserable pathetic life and die for all I care. You made me feel worthless when I was with you. NO MORE! It's over Morelli."

"But Steph..."

"NO BUTS! I am marrying Evan. Period. If you can't get that through your thick skull, then I guess you're as dumb as I think you are. NOW BACK THE FUCK OFF!" I stepped forward into his personal space, I pointed my finger into his face, "Now turn around and get the fuck out!" He arm snaked out and grasped my wrist twisting it behind my back, holding my arm behind my back. The guys made to rush his and save me, but before they could, Morelli snarled, "Get the fuck back. You come at me and I shoot her." He pressed the muzzle of his service weapon into my tample. Evan growled and made his way to the front along with Ranger and Tank.

"Ranger. Ram. You men stay back. She's mine. You brainwashed her. You're never getting her back." He inched his way backwards to the door. Evan began to slowly follow us step by step. I could tell morelli was starting to lose his cool completely, he torqued on my arms making me cry out in pain. At that moment Evan lunged for us, Morelli moved his gunhand, I screamed and threw my weight into his arm. Morelli pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the floor, as Evan's weight knocked the three of us to the ground. I scrambled to my feet and screamed, "NO!" Morelli kicked Evan in the head and made to raise his arm to shoot Evan in the head. With my protective instinct in high gear, I reacted and kicked the gun out of his hand. Snarling, he got to his feet and we circled each other, ready to fight.

Ranger and all his men had their weapons aimed at Morelli and ready to fire if necesarry, but held them back saying, "It's her fight. She can do it. Support only."

I nodded and pushed a lock of stray hair out of my eyes, "He's right, Morelli. This is my fight and you are not going to win." I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes, trying to look as menacing as possible.

"Cupcake..." He taunted with a evil grin. He moved to swing his fist at my face, but I was too fast, I dodged and landed a hard right just under his right arm into his ribs. I heard a crack and he winced. Holding his side, he laughed. "Lucky shot. Your boyfriend show you that one?" I kept my defensive posture, weight on the balls of my feet, arms at the ready. He lunged again, I spun to the left catching him off guard and kicked his back sending him into the wall of black clad men. They turned him around and roughly thrust him back toward me.

"You bastard. You drunk, selfish, egotistical, maniacal, pompus, big-headed, conceited, spiteful piece of shit less than a man. You never deserved me. You never loved me. You loved controlling me. NO MORE YOU ASSHOLE!" I jumped up and gave him a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. He fell against a table knocking it sideways. He righted himself, staggering with the ringing in his ears.

"You frigid bitch. You never could decide who's bed to climb into. You're just a slut and a whore! You're lucky I can overlook that. Let me take you away from them." He pointed to the guys.

"BOBBY! Get Evan!" I shouted over my shoulder. I turned to Morelli, "Morelli, I love Evan. I am marrying Evan. I will never marry you. I do not love you!" The look of rage filled his now purple face, his eyes darkened and his fist balled up. "I will be Stephanie Michelle Ramsey! I will have HIS children, I will live in HIS house, and I will tend to HIS needs. NOT YOURS!" He rushed forward sending us the the ground in a tangled heap. I punched, clawed and scratched him with all I had. I managed to fight my way to the top and had him stradled under me. I punched him in the face as hard as I could for as long as I could. He managed to push me off of him and across the floor. I watched him retreive his service weapon from off the floor. He moved it up and down lightly in his hands feeling the weight of it before his pointed it at me.

"Cupcake. You will never marry that GOON! I won't let you. I'd rather you be dead than marry someone else. I want my face to be the last one you see before you die." He raised his gun at me.

"Joe! Joe! Stop. Don't do this. If you love me, don't do this!" I begged him. My right hand was working the snap open on the holster of my gun. He threw his head back in a laugh, I pulled my gun pointing it straight at his heart. "Joe. My name isn't Cupcake.." He jerked out of his laugh, and raised his gun. We fired simultaneously, my bullet finding it's mark, dead center of his chest, his bullet grazed my left thigh. Loud screams and shouts followed by the sound of scrambling of feet washed over me, as patrons other than Rangeman fled the scene. Ranger barked for Tank to secure Morelli.

Morelli, froze and looked at his chest in disbelief, "Cupcake. You shot me." He sank to his knees, looking back to me, his face twisted in fury, he raised his gun hand. I pulled the trigger again and watched as it tore through his shoulder effectively making his arm useless if he lived. He dropped to the floor face first, his gun skittering away from him. I reached down and grabbed it, making sure it was out of his reach. Strong arms grabbed me, pulled my Glock out of my hands, as I sank onto my knees. Tears streaked my face as I clawed my way to Evan's unconscious body on my hands and knees.

"Evan! EVAN!" I screamed clutching him to my chest. "Baby, wake up!"

"Bomber. Bomber!" Bobby shook me, "He's just unconscious. He'll wake up. Where are you shot?" He shook me again. "Where?" I looked down at myself in a daze. I pointed to my thigh as Bobby did a quick check. He sighed, "It's only a graze. Thank God!" He hugged me close, but I felt nothing. I was numb. I was lost in the fact I had just shot Joe Morelli.

I felt Ranger kneel down next to me. "Babe." I looked at him with a distant stare. "You are alright. Stay with Ram. We'll hold off the PD until you're ready." He stood and ordered the men to back away from the area where Morelli and I had fought. A moment later Carl, Big Dog and Eddie rushed in guns drawn. Ranger updated them on the situation as Carl called for the EMT's. Evan awoke just as the EMT's arrived, he pulled me close and hugged me fiercely.

"Angel. God! Are you shot?" He gave me a once over and noticed my leg.

"Just grazed me. I'm okay." I kissed him and held him close.

Ranger walked away from the cops to stand next to me with all of my Rangeman boys. "Babe. He's dead." I openly wept, not only for the life I had taken, but because Joe had put me in that situation. I had no choice, he was going to kill me. I had to stop him first.

"Angel. You did what you had to do. No one blames you. Your training kicked in and you saved me." Evan whispered, he kissed the shell of my ear. "My hero." I snuggled my face into his chest, absorbing his strength.

"He will never hurt me again." I jutted my chin forward and raised my head.

After Carl and Big Dog gathered the statments from the witnesses, they made their way over to me. "Steph, Honey. I want you to know no one blames you. It was a clear case of self defense. We have 60 witness statements attesting to that fact. You probably saved Ram's life. Now, I know you know how this goes. I need to get your statement." Big Dog said gently.

I automatically recounted the entire situation, from begining to the bitter end. I finished without shedding any tears, I was done crying for Joe Morelli. I sighed and put my hands into my lap, waiting to hear what Carl had to say. "Steph. You did what you had to. He tried to shoot you and Ram. I would have done the same thing. Now don't worry, Juniak will make sure you never get charged with anything over this." He kissed my cheek then shook Evan and Ranger's hands and walked outside.

"Angel. We need to get you back to Haywood to clean out your wound. Can you walk?" He gently raised me to my feet. I nodded and walked out to the SUV we arrived in and climbed into the back seat. A caravan of blacked out SUV's made it's way out of the parking lot and back to Haywood.

Just before we turned onto Haywood, my phone rang. I picked it up and looked at the number on the caller ID, my mother. I groaned and threw the phone onto the seat next to me, and buried my head in my hands. Evan picked it up, noticed the number and answered it by the third ring. "Hi, Mom. It's Evan. Yes, she's alright. No, Mom. No, Mom. She's in shock right now, but she's okay. We'll call you when she feels up to it. Love you too, Mom." He sighed as he snapped the phone shut. "Angel?"

I glanced at him, as he rubbed the top of my hand with his. "I love you, Angel." He leaned against me, placing his head on top of mine.

"I love you too Evan." I smiled and sighed knowing that the worst was over.

"Angel?"

"Hmm?"

"You're my hero."

"Mmm...hmm."

"Can I call you Wonder Woman?" He teased, squeezing my knee with his hand.

"Only if I can call you Superman." I shot back.

"Why Superman. Not that I'm complaining." He chuckled.

"Because you're a man of steel. Although you aren't faster than a speeding bullet, you do shoot a mean sniper rifle. And you can fly." I explained as truthfully as I could.

"I can fly?" He repeated, unsure of why I had said it.

"Yup, when you hung from the rope below the helo. You were flying."

"Alright Wonder Woman." He laughed softly, capturing my lips with his.

I murmured, "My Superman," against him as he fully claimed my lips with his.

**Epilogue**

So here I am again, on Bobby's exam table getting my boo boo's taken care of. I tugged my cargos off and sat on the cold stainless steel table, as I waited for him to gather his supplies. We had already taken digital photos from several different angles, all with a ruler next to track the bullet took, to show how large the gouge was. Evan held my hand, silent in his support, as he stood next to me. I shifted uncomfortably on the table, it was freezing cold and my little lace thong did nothing to protect my skin from the cold metal. "Angel. What's the matter?"

"I'm cold, and Bobby always takes forever." I whined. I peeled myself off of the table and lowered myself down to the floor. Evan placed a blanket he grabbed from the warmer onto the table and lifted me back up. I covered my lap with the remaining blanket and enjoyed the warmth the blanket radiated. He used an open palm to rub up and down my spine, my eyes closed and I savored the feeling of him. A few minutes later Bobby walked into the exam room and set down a tray with his supplies. Rubbing alcohol, swabs, a sutuer kit, butterfly bandages, and a red lollipop. Evan snickered upon seeing the candy. "What? I always get a lollipop when I'm done. Don't you?" I asked, teasing him.

"Angel, I don't think Bobby would have a jar big enough for the lollipops we would require with all the times he's had to fix us up." He smiled and kissed me gently. "Does it hurt, Angel?"

I tried not to lie to him, "No, well... yeah. It stings like a mother. But Bobby will have me all fixed up in no time flat." I jumped at the feling of rubbing alcohol touching my scratch. "SHIT! Bobby! That hurt!" I gripped Evan's hand tightly as Bobby cleaned out the track left by the bullet. He finished and debated with Evan the right course of treatment to close the gaping gash.

"Sutures. Quick, clean and efficient." Bobby offered, "Besides, she'll only have a faint scar when it's healed."

"Butterfly bandages. You know she'll rip out the stitches by tomorrow, and you'll have to redo them." Evan told him, twirling a lock of my curly hair around his finger.

I rolled my eyes, "Please! Just give me a few stitches and cover the rest with the butterflys." I tapped the tray, "Come on. I don't have all day. I want to get into bed and sleep for the next two weeks!" I huffed out, throwing my hands into the air.

By the time Bobby was done, my last yawn nearly split my head. I was bone tired and Evan noticed me wilt as the minutes ticked by. "Angel. I think it's time for you to hit the hay. We're going to stay in your apartment for a few days, Justin's going to stay in mine. This weekend we'll move your stuff into mine, and make it ours." He smiled and lowered me to the floor. I tugged my cargos over my hips as yet another yawn widened my mouth and made me sigh.

"M'kay." He picked me up in his strong, muscular arms and cradled me against his chest. We made our way to my apartment and he set me down long enough to unlock the door. We stumbled into the bedroom, stripped our clothes off and fell into the bed. I snuggled back into the warm body that lay next to me. I struggled to keep my eyes open, "Baby?"

"Hmm?"

"I need to go shopping tomorrow with my mother and the girls."

"Why?" Evan asked, his voice thick with sleepiness.

"I need to start looking for a wedding dress." I sighed and fell into a deep sleep dreaming of our future together.

**THE END**

**A/N: I hope you liked it. I pretty much like it the way it is, albeit, with some trepidation. I am nervous and a little on edge waiting to see how this story is received. Please R&R, I would love the feedback.**

**The sequal will be posted as soon as I can finish. I unfortunately have to fight my husband for time on the computer, so I will try to post as often as I can. Thanks for being supportive. -Tiff**

**A/N 2: FYI: Powderville, Montana is real, it's along the Powder River, although it isn't as big as I made it. Someday I would like to visit.  
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